Earlier this month representatives from seventeen Pacific island countries and territories came together for the fifth Pacific Islands Mental Health Network (PIMHnet) meeting, held in Nadi, Fiji from the 17 to 19 October.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary since PIMHnet launch in 2007, the event brought together Pacific representatives to share information, knowledge, and experiences about how resources could be best used to improve mental health services and care in the Pacific.
A diverse range of participants joined the meeting including mental health specialists, senior Ministry of Health officials and technical agencies, including WHO.
Recognition for mental health issues has grown considerably over the past decade, in part because of efforts such as PIMHnet, as noted by Dr Wendy Snowdon, Team Coordinator at the WHO Division of Pacific Technical Support, who noted that ‘to date fourteen Pacific island countries have started the implementation of the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), which aims to scale up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders. More than 1000 staff have been trained and numerous activities have been held to raise public awareness for mental health issues in the Pacific’.
The meeting also provided an opportunity for Pacific representatives to discuss challenges facing mental health services in the Pacific. In particular, Dr Yutaro Setoya, WHO Technical Officer for Mental Health noted that ’spending on mental health remains low within government health expenditure and that most mental health care is still based on services provided in hospitals and limited to the major cities’.
A critical issue of discussion was in relation to mental health issues during natural disasters. In particular Dr Setoya noted that disaster ‘response and preparedness activities have been primarily focused on physical needs and there has been insufficient attention given to the psychosocial impacts and needs of affected communities’. Issues such as this, in addition to ongoing stigma and discrimination towards people with mental disorders, remain serious challenges for the Pacific in addressing mental health issues within its communities.
Building upon the knowledge and experiences shared over the three days, participants concluded the meeting by recommitting to integrating the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) into primary health care services, strengthening mental health and psychosocial response for disasters and investing in the establishment of community mental health services.