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WFMH AFRICA INITIATIVE
BOUYED BY GRANTS FROM THE FORD
FOUNDATION AND LILLY BOEHHRINGER INGELHEIM
Efforts to move forward with
implementation plans for the WFMH Africa Initiative addressing
the mental health consequences of HIV/AIDS in Africa have been
strengthened by receipt of two recent grants from The Ford
Foundation and from Lilly USA, LLC and Boehringer Ingelheim.
The Ford Foundation grant will
provide base funding to launch the implementation phase of an
African secretariat for the initiative to address the mental
health needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS, their families and
caregivers. Preliminary planning is underway to house the
secretariat at the Cape Mental Health Society headquarters in
Cape Town, South Africa.
The education grant from Lilly
USA, LLC, and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will
support the preparation, production and distribution of a WFMH
Awareness Packet on HIV/AIDS and Depression in Africa. This
packet will serve to “close the gap” between “what is known” and
“what is done” to address the lack of awareness and accessible
information regarding the complex but important relationship
between depression and HIV/AIDS.
A January 2009 report from the
World Health Organization noted that “HIV/AIDS imposes a
significant psychological burden. People with HIV often suffer
from depression and anxiety as they adjust to the impact of the
diagnosis of being infected and face the difficulties of living
with a chronic life-threatening illness, for instance shortened
life expectancy, complicated therapeutic regimens,
stigmatization, and loss of social support, family or friends.
HIV infection can be associated with high risk of suicide or
attempted suicide. The psychological predictors of suicidal
ideation in HIV-infected individuals include concurrent
substance-use disorders, past history of depression and presence
of hopelessness.”
These are among the many
crucial issues the WFMH hopes to address through the
implementation phase of its WFMH Africa Initiative addressing
the mental health of consequences of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Preston J. Garrison
Secretary-General & CEO
World Federation for Mental Health
May 18, 2009 |
