With funding from the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Federation sponsored a medical
expert to work as a Mental Health Specialist in the Health, Nutrition
and Population unit. This program began with funding for one year in
1999, and was then expanded to three years. The purpose was to increase
the awareness of the Bank’s staff about mental health issues, and to
provide advice for health lending. Harvey Whiteford, the former Commonwealth
Director of Mental Health in Australia, held the initial one-year post.
He was replaced in April 2000 by Florence Baingana, a Principal Medical
Officer from Uganda’s Health Ministry. Dr. Whiteford continued his
involvement on a part-time basis.
During 2001 Drs. Baingana
and Whiteford continued to work to expand knowledge of
mental health topics in the Bank, approaching the task
from many angles. Dr. Whiteford was able to secure support
from the US National Institute of Mental Health for work
at the Bank to study
how mental health services should be funded, within the
context of public health sector reform and financing.
New contacts with the World
Health Organization’s Department of Mental Health and Substance
Dependence were developed. Bank personnel reviewed an
early draft of WHO’s World
Health Report on mental health, and Drs. Baingana and Whiteford
contributed case studies for the Report.
Harvey Whiteford
Within the Bank a web page on mental health was set up for the intranet.
A series of informal meetings with invited speakers was arranged for
staff. Attention was drawn to mental health aspects of other health
problems. Bank Trust Funds were mobilized for the inclusion of mental
health questions in national surveys in Bosnia and Burundi, and for
a study of the social and psychological consequences of female genital
mutilation. In operations work, where technical support was provided
for country task teams, mental health components were developed for
lending to Burundi, the Palestinian Authority, Lesotho, and Romania.
Overall, World Bank lending for mental health has increased substantially
during the program.
Florence Baingana
Whenever possible Drs. Baingana and Whiteford also took part in activities
outside the Bank to promote mental health and to describe the work
of its Health, Nutrition and Population Section.
