World Mental Health Day 2023 - Global Mental Health Capacity-Building Workshop in Estonia
Today 10 October 2023, is the World Mental Health Day. Globally, there is an increasing need and interest in mental health support. The World Mental Health Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right.
The need to develop and strengthen Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) preparedness as part of emergency preparedness and risk management capacity building was emphasised during the Seventy Fourth World Health Assembly in May 2021 and was included in the updated WHO Comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2030. The WHO Centre for Health Development in Kobe (WHO Kobe Centre or WKC) actively contributes to the World Mental Health Day through supporting research projects with universities and through participating in global MHPSS capacity building workshops.
As part of a series of the WHO capacity-building workshops to scale up MHPSS preparedness worldwide, a workshop was jointly organised in Tallinn Estonia in September 2023, by WHO and the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia. In total, 78 participants from 35 countries attended the workshop. A training package used in the workshop was developed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) MHPSS Reference Group and included modules to introduce key concepts of MHPSS, MHPSS risk assessment tools, and approaches to plan and implement effective response strategies. The activities focused on developing multisectoral MHPSS preparedness for real-world hazards and simulated response actions and coordination across actors through live interjections and case developments.
Dr Ryoma Kayano, WHO technical officer, participated in the workshop and stressed the importance of conveying capacity building trainings to develop skills to better integrate MHPSS in health emergency and disaster risk management (Health EDRM) in order to be well prepared for mental health needs in future emergencies.
Read more about the MHPSS workshop in Estonia.
The WKC web stories about first and second workshops in Tunisia are also available.