Description

“Advocacy is an important means of raising awareness on mental health issues and ensuring that mental health is on the national agenda of governments. Advocacy can lead to improvements in policy, legislation and service development.”

This module is part of the WHO Mental Health Policy and Service guidance package, which provides practical  information to assist countries to improve the mental health of their populations.
What is the purpose of the guidance package?
The purpose of the guidance package is to assist policy-makers and planners to:
– develop policies and comprehensive strategies for improving the mental health of populations;
– use existing resources to achieve the greatest possible benefits;
– provide effective services to those in need;
– assist the reintegration of persons with mental disorders into all aspects of community life, thus improving their overall quality of life.

What is in the package?
The package consists of a series of interrelated user-friendly modules that are designed to address the wide variety of needs and priorities in policy development and service planning. The topic of each module represents a core aspect of mental health. The starting point is the module entitled The Mental Health Context, which outlines the global context of mental health and summarizes the content of all the modules. This module should give readers an  understanding of the global context of mental health, and should enable them to select specific modules that will be useful to them in their own situations.
Mental Health Policy, Plans and Programmes is a central module, providing detailed information about the process of developing policy and implementing it through plans and programmes. Following a reading of this module,  countries may wish to focus on specific aspects of mental health covered in other modules.

The guidance package includes the following modules:
> The Mental Health Context
> Mental Health Policy, Plans and Programmes
> Mental Health Financing
> Mental Health Legislation and Human Rights
> Advocacy for Mental Health
> Organization of Services for Mental Health
> Quality Improvement for Mental Health
> Planning and Budgeting to Deliver Services for Mental Health

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