EC Launches New Pact Video on World Mental Health Day
The Health and Consumers Directorate General of theEuropean Commission is leading an initiative that will bring together policies,programmes and activities across Europe, under the banner of a European Pactfor Mental Health and Well-Being. The Pact was launched by Health CommissionerVassiliou in June this year, with the support of Commissioner Spidla (Employmentand Social Affairs).
Work is now underway to enable a broad range oforganisations to take part in a process of exchange of practice and thecollection of examples, to illustrate and celebrate action by Member States, policydirectorates of the European Commission, civil society, academics and otherstakeholders.
The Pact will only be truly successful if actorsfrom all areas of policy and interest recognise the mental health dimension oftheir work, and highlight their ongoing activities under the umbrella of thePact. This will enable exchange of information and practice, and enable newnetworks and collaborations.
A series of consensus papers in each of the fivepriority areas of the Pact were produced for the June conference. A BackgroundPaper was produced by the SUPPORT Project for the event.
Today, on World Mental Health Day, the Commission presents a new video about mental health. A recent study in six EU-countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain) found that problems such as depression, anxiety, phobias or alcohol dependence affected 11.5 % of their population.
As a result, mental health problems are a major challenge for national health systems and a leading cause of work absenteeism and incapacity. More people in the EU (almost 60,000 per year) die from suicide than traffic accidents. Breaking the stigma around mental illness is one of the Commission's priorities. Another priority is preventing the onset of mental illness in the first place. The video highlights examples of successful initiatives such as the European Alliance Against Depression and initiatives promoting corporate social responsibility in the workplace.
The video also reports on the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being, a very important initiative in this field, launched by Commissioner for Health, Ms Androulla Vassiliou in June 2008 at an EU high-level conference. The Pact will aim to promote mental health at all levels, by assisting governments and stakeholders to pool good practice from across Europe, in partnership with the WHO, and to formulate recommendations and action plans to address mental ill health.
Link to video "Europe joins forces on mental health"
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/press/index_en.htm
Link to information about the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/mental_health_en.htm