Event highlights
3 May 2024
Takeaways
Across the 2 days of the conference, more than 250 participants confronted many of the challenges experienced by people in detention and what countries like the Netherlands are doing to address them.
“The confined environment of prisons presents unique health-care challenges, and can lead to a loss of autonomy and separation from family and friends,” said Marrit de Vries, Medical Director for the Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (NIFP), a co-organizer of the conference. “But it can also provide ample opportunity to implement health-care strategies that can safeguard and improve the health of people in prison and impact public health overall.”
One key takeaway was how essential connections are – both within detention centres and between detention centres and the wider community – to promote mental health among people in detention and reduce recidivism.
“Prison is a lonely place to be,” said Piet Broenland, a Dutch expert by experience and certified health-care professional specializing in addiction, detention and recovery, who has spent more than 10 years in the prison system in the Netherlands.
Forensic health professionals, researchers, representatives of nongovernmental orgaizations and experts by experience discussed strategies to promote connection, including rethinking solitary confinement as a punitive measure, given its detrimental effect on mental health and link to suicide; facilitating use of new technologies and alternatives to detention; and building up peer support systems, where people in prison can be trained to support others in navigating prison life and how to get help after release.
“Instead of trying to take everything away because we want to stop spending money on people inside prison, we should spend more so that they can use their time effectively – that they can educate themselves and get treatment,” said Mr Broenland. “If you do not, people will come out worse than they went in.”
These and other key takeaways from the conference will be fed into the Amsterdam Conclusions, to be released by WHO and NIFP later this year.
“The Amsterdam Conclusions will support Member States in their progress to achieving not only their goals and targets for prison health but for improving the mental health and well-being of people in prisons and other places of detention,” says Carina Ferreira-Borges, WHO/Europe’s Regional Advisor for Alcohol, Illicit Drugs and Prison Health.
Event notice
18 April 2024
Addressing mental health in prisons: an urgent challenge
Mental health is a critical concern not only for society as a whole, but also for a particularly vulnerable population: people living in prisons across the WHO European Region. Here, mental health disorders are the most prevalent health condition. The upcoming 2-day international conference, "Mental health and well-being in detention centres: prison health is public health", underscores the predicament that, while places of detention restrict freedom, they should never compromise people’s access to quality health care.
The conference aims to support countries in progressing towards achieving their commitments under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda and the WHO European Programme of Work (EPW) that promotes united action for better health, leaving no one behind.
International conference: major topics
The conference is jointly organized by the Netherlands Institute for Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (NIFP), Ministry of Justice and Security of The Netherlands, Dutch Custodial Agency, and WHO/Europe.
It will bring together experts, decision-makers and stakeholders from around the world to share knowledge, best practices, and strategies for improving the mental health of all people in detention – from detainees to prison staff and health professionals working in these facilities.
The discussions will be focused on:
- human rights in detention centres
- lessons from people’s lived experience
- approaches to drug use and mental health in detention facilities.
How to participate
For virtual participation, use the links to follow live-streamed sessions online.