Mowadat Rana, Khaid Saeed, Malik Hussain Mubbashar.
Setting up the masters programme in public mental health in the institutions of eastern mediterranean region.
Biomedica Jan ;30(2):130-3.

BACKGROUND ing the consultation the rationale for a master’s prog- The Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Hea- ramme and the available options for setting up such a lth Organisation comprise of countries extending from programme in regional institutions were thoroughly Morocca in the West and Pakistan in the East. The reg- discussed. Each interested institution from EMRO re- ion is unique as regards its peoples, geography, and gion was asked to make a presentation on its capacity above all diversity in terms of population densities, to run a two year masters programme in mental policy health infrastructure, resources (both human and eco- and services that best addressed the needs of the re- nomic), and disease patterns. A common thread is ho- gion. wever the absence of a robust mental health policy and The discussion and presentations were followed up effective mental health services in nearly all the mem- by a participatory review of the capacities of the reg- ber states of EMRO. The member states also lack indi- ional institutions based on a set of a stringent preset genous specialists trained in public mental health po- criteria (Table A) covering the categories of human, licy and services. They consequently rely either on for- financial, logistic and experiential resource that each eign resources in this regard or end up blindly follow- institution harboured. The participants also developed ing western models that fail to find local relevance, and a work – plan to define the concrete actions to be un- fail to deliver, consistently. Other peculiarities that dertaken by each involved party i.e. the regional insti- demand local / homegrown solutions to address the tutions, WHO / EMRO, and the Nova University, to mental health issues are an ever increasing gap in re- address the lack of trained human resource in the field source allocation for mental health services, and the of public mental health and service delivery. A similar magnitude of mental health problems. (Reference… list (Table B) was drawn to identify the support that figures, data…). The additional challenges faced by the NUL will provide to an institution that fulfills the cri- countries of the region include: stigma of mental ill- teria listed in table A. The initial consultations led to a ness, changing population patterns, growing aware- consensus on the following points: ness for use of scientific mental health care, mental 1. Public mental health is generally not an area ade- health services that are in dire need of newer ideas, quately covered in traditional academic curricula. reorganization and improvement, lack of modern spe- 2. Dedicated and concerted efforts would be required cialized units for psychiatric intensive care, high secu- by the regional institutions to start a Masters pro- rity / dependence forensic services, crisis manage- gramme. ment, day care, short and long term inpatient care, 3. Nova University Lisbon’s (NUL) curricular model mental health – friendly policies sensitive to human is relevant and useful to emulate, at least initially, rights of mentally ill, and well utilized, coordinated with inclusion of region specific needs, while the and robust community mental health programmes of regional institutions enhance their own capacity. international standing and standards. These gaps in NUL could therefore provide the technical exper- the mental health scene in EMRO often reflects in hig- tise and faculty support to regional institutions ru- hly fragmented, poorly coordinated, and many a times nning a master’s programme in public mental hea- unsafe delivery of mental health care, civil and human lth policy and services. rights abuses of mentally ill, and minimal resource 4. The key competencies to be imparted through such allocations for mental health amongst member states.

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