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By WhyDev.org
An article this week in the Times of Swaziland – “Corporal punishment to be phased out soon” – first filled me with encouragement regarding the progress Swaziland has made in its development issues in comparison to other countries. Then it whisked me down memory lane, making a pit stop at one of the mini crises I had dealt with in Ghana as Project Coordinator for an international volunteer organisation. It was the classic nightmare case: a 19-year-old boy from higher income country (HIC)-X imposed his beliefs and culture on another’s after two weeks on his project.Even with several hours of rigorous discussion courses specifically implemented to prevent circumstances such as this, he managed to do exactly what we instructed him to refrain from doing.Our organization placed him in a teaching assistant role with a primary school. This school, along with nearly every other primary school in Ghana, uses corporal punishment as its principal form of discipline.
May 13th, 2012 | Posted in Aid,HIV/AIDS,Hub Selects,Human Rights,MDGs,Mental Health,Microfinance,Politics,Technology,Uncategorized | Read More »
By WhyDev.org
Women Deliver recently came out with their annual “Women Deliver 50” list of inspiring ideas and solutions put forward by women and girls. The women and groups celebrated in the list cover a broad range of topics and programs, from midwives in Ethiopia to advocating for women’s voices in Libya.One that sparked my interest was “Africans feeding Africa” by Backpack Farm, which is a social enterprise that hosts trainings for small-scale farmers in East Africa and sells them green agriculture technologies and supplies– all in a backpack.I caught the founder, Rachel Zedeck, in the middle of the busy planting season in Kenya, but she managed to spare some time to tell me about their program and some of the challenges in pursuing the social enterprise model.Tanya Cothran: Where does your funding come from? What drew you to the commercial model as opposed to the donor-funded aid model?Rachel Zedek: I used my life savings to build the company, which is a registered LTD (limited company) in Kenya. In retrospect I think I was naïve.
May 11th, 2012 | Posted in Aid,Human Rights,MDGs,Mental Health,Microfinance,Politics,Technology,Uncategorized | Read More »
By PIH
Mental health and social support services connect orphaned Rwandan teenager with food, school, and hope
May 10th, 2012 | Posted in Mental Health,Uncategorized | Read More »
By Abraar Karan
In my recent fieldwork with girls involved in intergenerational prostitution (prostituted by their husbands and in-laws), I have found it very difficult to find the answers I am looking for. Are these girls being forced to prostitute? Is this something they actually want to do, as they have indicated to me in our discussions? As [...]
April 29th, 2012 | Posted in Featured Content,Hub Full-Length Features,Mental Health,Noncommunicable Disease | Read More »
By Kaiser GH Update
“We commend the 130th session of the WHO Executive Board for adopting a resolution calling for a comprehensive response to the global burden of mental illnesses,” Rebecca Hock of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Mental Health, and colleagues, write in this Lancet opinion piece. “The resolution for mental health, led by India, the U.S., and Switzerland, is the result of a crescendo of political support for addressing mental illnesses and received unanimous support from countries on the WHO Executive Board,” the authors write, noting, “The resolution urges countries to protect and promote the rights of persons with mental disorders and to combat stigma against mental illness.”
April 13th, 2012 | Posted in Kaiser's Global Health Update,Mental Health,Noncommunicable Disease | Read More »
By Jennifer Gottesfeld
Anti-retroviral medicine (ARVs) to treat HIV only became available in most parts of Africa in the late 90s and early 2000s. Before that time, most children born with HIV did not survive past 2 years old. We are now beginning to reach a time when the first group of children born with HIV is surviving [...]
March 15th, 2012 | Posted in Featured Content,HIV/AIDS,Hub Full-Length Features,Infectious Disease,Mental Health,Noncommunicable Disease | Read More »
By Kaiser GH Update
Visit link: South African Researchers Call For New Framework To Help Prioritize Global…
February 29th, 2012 | Posted in Kaiser's Global Health Update,Mental Health | Read More »
By Humanosphere
Mental illness is a surprisingly large driver of deaths and disability worldwide. The global health community has neglected this problem based on the assumption mental health is too difficult to deal with as compared to physical diseases like AIDS, malaria or TB. A project in India shows why this is not true.
February 16th, 2012 | Posted in Humanosphere,Mental Health | Read More »
By WhyDev.org
White Paper Series by Alessandra Pigni “The idea that psychological well-being is a luxury is right at the root of the problem. The mental health of field staff is every bit as important as their physical health. Proper preparation for the psychological stresses of field life should be taken as seriously as pre-mission medical assessments and associated measures to prevent/treat illness in the field.” (Robyn Kerrison – human rights/protection advisor, currently working in Haiti) Over the last months I have been collecting stories, reflections and suggestions from humanitarian professionals on the importance of staff-care, pre-deployment psychological preparation, burnout prevention training, field support, coaching and mentoring and post-deployment care. HQ and field-staff have lent their voice to this white paper series, which provides an analysis of the needs in the field, as well as the types of interventions that could be of help, including mindfulness training.Encouraged by my dear friend Jennifer Lentfer at how-matters.org the first chapter of the White Paper Series on the psychological health of the precious people who work in aid is now out! It provides the background and purpose of the whole series.
February 16th, 2012 | Posted in Aid & Development,Hub Selects,Mental Health,Uncategorized | Read More »
By GHHub
EDITORIALS: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis today – A Matteelli et al. Maternal mortality and human rights: landmark decision by United Nations human rights body NEWS Fixing fistula RESEARCH Prioritizing risk factors to identify preventive interventions for economic assessment The tyranny of distance: maternity waiting homes and access to birthing facilities in rural Timor-Leste A systems approach [...]
February 2nd, 2012 | Posted in Featured Content,Hub Selects,Maternal & Reproductive Health,Mental Health | Read More »
By Humanosphere
Mental illness is a much bigger problem in poor countries, or anywhere in the world, than most of us realize. In Africa, those working to improve mental health face incredible challenges, including social stigma and misunderstanding. CNN’s done some great stories on this.
January 31st, 2012 | Posted in Humanosphere,Mental Health,Noncommunicable Disease | Read More »
By Humanosphere
Many might be surprised to learn that mental illness is, statistically, one of the top causes of death and disability worldwide. As I’ve reported before, mental health is woefully neglected as a global health issue.
January 18th, 2012 | Posted in Humanosphere,Mental Health,Noncommunicable Disease | Read More »
By Kaiser GH Update
“Mental illness and drug abuse can wreak havoc in global societies and economies, and the U.N. General Assembly should devote a special session to the matter, global health experts said” in a PLoS Medicine article published on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports (1/17). “Mental, neurological, and substance use disorders (MNS) …
January 18th, 2012 | Posted in Kaiser's Global Health Update,Mental Health,Noncommunicable Disease | Read More »
By GHHub
A new article, “Service availability and utilization and treatment gap for schizophrenic disorders: a survey in 50 low- and middle-income countries,” by Antonio Lora et al in the current issue of the WHO Bulletin.
January 6th, 2012 | Posted in Mental Health,Noncommunicable Disease | Read More »
