Former US president Jimmy Carter with WISH official.

Doha

As part of their wider visit to Qatar Foundation (QF), former US president Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter, met Egbert Schillings, CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH). The Carter Centre was co-founded in 1982 by the Carters to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering.
The meeting explored the need for greater focus on mental health globally and areas of potential collaboration in the fields of raising public awareness, engaging with media on mental health, and early intervention in children.
Mental health has been a core research area for WISH since its inception. To date WISH has worked with its global community of health experts to create three evidence-based reports on mental health: The 2013 report “Transforming Lives, Enhancing Communities: Innovations In Mental Health” positioned mental health as a global health priority and described innovations that expand access to effective mental health treatment and care.
In 2015 WISH published “A Call To Action: The Global Response To Dementia Through Policy Innovation”. The report outlined recommendations to policymakers to accelerate prevention, improve care and develop new treatments. Also at last month’s summit, WISH presented “Healthy Young Minds Transforming the Mental Health of Children”, raising the well being of children as a top policy priority and a key investment in the future of any thriving society.
Rosalynn Carter outlined the Carter Centre’s global programmes on mental health, such as the Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism and the annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy. With clear parallels in the work undertaken by both organisations, there was much enthusiasm for future collaboration and joint projects.
The meeting also offered a valuable opportunity to share details of Qatar’s National Mental Health Strategy, “Changing Minds, Changing Lives 2013 – 2018”, and its vision to provide the best possible mental health services to citizens, while changing attitudes towards mental illness. The Supreme Council of Health’s national strategy is truly unique and the first of its kind in the Arab world.
Schillings said: “There is a clear correlation in the important work on mental health undertaken by the Carter Centre and our WISH community. The kinship between our efforts signifies a common goal to advance the mental health agenda globally and a shared impatience about the current pace of change. I look forward to continuing today’s discussion with The Carter Centre as we look to improve the treatment of mental health worldwide.”

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