Western Pacific
WFMH Representatives Visit Taiwan
In July President Elect Pirkko Lahti and Nancy Wallace, WFMH’s Main
Representative at UN NY, participated in a conference on disaster management
in Taiwan at the invitation of Regional Vice President Chueh Chang. The
conference “Disaster and Mental Health: Interactions among Government, NGOs
and International Organizations” on 29-30 July brought together
professionals and volunteer organizations to review the response to Taiwan’s
devastating earthquake on 21 September 1999. (Since that time Taiwan has
experienced many aftershocks, prolonging the trauma for survivors.)
Various NGOs reported on their work to help earthquake survivors, which
included both fund-raising to support relief efforts and the direct
provision of services. Pirkko Lahti spoke about international activities
for mental health, including WFMH’s World Mental Health Day and next year’s
mental health campaign by WHO. Nancy Wallace spoke about NGO advocacy at
the United Nations, and also discussed the value of NGO advocacy at the
regional and local level.
Both visitors were impressed by the way the conference recognized the
importance of the”grassroots” response by volunteers in the crisis. However
Pirkko Lahti later emphasized the need for advance preparation and
recommended that cooperation between volunteers and professionals should be
developed to avoid duplication of effort. Nancy Wallace also felt that it
was important to have an ongoing process to improve the response to natural
disasters. She also noted that there was an alarming rise in the number of
suicide attempts after the earthquake, a development that deserved
investigation.
Before the conference the WFMH representatives took part in a press
conference on consumers’ affairs (28 July) organized by the Taiwan Mental
Health Alliance and cosponsored by the Republic of China Consumer Foundation
and the WFMH Western Pacific Region. Among the issues discussed were
consumers’ rights, violence against women, and inappropriate responses in
the medical system. Eight TV channels and 15 newspapers covered the event,
which was the first effort by NGOs to publicize consumers’ concerns.
Pirkko Lahti and Nancy Wallace had a full program of activities during the
remainder of their stay in Taiwan. They met with officials from the
Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, and found a strong interest in
mental health as a global issue at both government departments. In
recognition of this year’s World Mental Health Day theme, “Mental Health and
Work,” they spent time at an oil refinery where they met with labor leaders
to discuss workers’ issues at the refinery and labor organization in the
country as a whole. They also visited social projects run by the Peng Wan
Ru Foundation to promote the well-being and safety of children. They saw a
summer school program for children with behavioral and learning disabilities
where traditional calligraphy was taught for its therapeutic value. They
also went to a clinic for alternative medicine and mental health.
There is considerable interest in developing a Western Pacific Regional
Council for WFMH, and Dr. Yow Hwey Hu heads a preparatory committee for the
Council. The host group arranging the visit, which included Professors Hu,
Chang, Chou and D.T.M. Wu, discussed the structure of WFMH’s Board and
possible ways of proceeding to strengthen regional development.