World Mental Health Day -
10 October
World Mental Health Day is
observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising
awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in
support of mental health.The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders
working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs
to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. The Day
provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to
talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health
care a reality for people worldwide.
The theme
for 2014 is “Living with schizophrenia”. The focus of the World Health
Organization will be living a healthy life with schizophrenia.
World Mental Health Day is observed in more than 100 countries
on October 10 through local, regional and national World Mental Health Day
commemorative events and programs. Activities include:
Officials
signing the World Mental Health Day proclamation.
Educational
lectures and the distribution of research papers on mental health issues.
Awards to
individuals or organizations who made significant contributions in improving
mental health issues.
World
Mental Health Day is an initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health
(WFMH). The World Health Organization (WHO), which is the UN’s directing and
coordinating authority for health, supports this event. The Mental Health
Foundation is another organization that is proactive in promoting World Mental
Health Day.World Mental Health Day is a global observance and not a public holiday.
Mental disorders affect nearly 12 percent of the world’s
population – about 450 million or one out of every four people around the world
– will experience a mental illness that would benefit from diagnosis and
treatment. WHO statistics for 2002 showed that 154 million people globally
suffered from depression, which is a form of mental illness. According to WHO,
mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which people realize their
own potential, can cope with normal life stresses, can work productively, and
can contribute to their community.Mental health services lack human and
financial resources in many countries, particularly low and middle income
countries. More funding is needed to promote mental health to increase people’s
awareness of the issue. In response to making mental health a global priority,
World Health Day was first celebrated in 1992 as an initiative of the WFMH,
which has members and contacts in more than 150 countries. Each year the UN,
through WHO, actively participates in promoting this event.
The WHO logo or emblem, which was chosen by the first World
Health Assembly in 1948, is often associated with the UN’s promotional material
for World Mental Health Day. The emblem consists of the UN symbol surmounted by
a staff with a snake coiling round it. The staff with the snake has long been a
symbol of medicine and the medical profession. It originates from the story of
Aesculapius who was revered by the ancient Greeks as a god of healing and whose
cult involved the use of snakes.
The
UN logo is often associated with marketing and promotional material for this
event. It features a projection of a world map (less Antarctica) centered on
the North Pole, inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalized
branches of the olive tree. The olive branches symbolize peace and the world
map depicts the area of concern to the UN in achieving its main purpose, peace
and security. The projection of the map extends to 60 degrees south latitude,
and includes five concentric circles.
No comments:
Post a Comment