Due to the socialization of men and women to adhere to dominant gender norms, women`s and men`s perceptions and definitions of health and disease are likely to vary, as are their health-oriented behaviours. Women may not recognize the symptoms of a health condition, treat them as severe, or warrant medical help, and more often than not, do not consider themselves eligible to invest in their well-being. Desai (1994), cited in Sonawat,[2] defined the family as a unit of two or more persons united by marriage, blood, adoption, or consensual union, usually consulting with a single household, interacting with each other, and communicating. While the definition is generally good, interaction and communication with each other can be difficult to obtain or determine. An existing textbook of the medical specialty of community medicine makes it more objective by defining interdependence as “individuals living together and eating in a common kitchen.” [7] It examines and defines three types of families: primary families, mixed families and three-generation families. However, practical experience in the Community has shown that these categories are not mutually exhaustive. HealthWomen live longer on average than men. But in some countries in Asia and North Africa, discrimination against women by neglecting their health or diet is such that they have a shorter life expectancy. In this exercise, violence against women was presented as a violation of the right to life; the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the right to equal protection of the law; the right to liberty and security of person; and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Freedom of expression and association are other critical areas where various issues are being addressed, ranging from denial of access to information on contraceptives to compulsory veiling for women. The rapid globalization of the world economy has led not only to structural adjustment programmes that weaken economies and nation-States, but also to the promotion of forms of industrialization and agriculture that deplete human and natural resources. Statistics show that the female workforce is the most affected. As the world`s poor become poorer, women become the poorest of all; The feminization of poverty is a reality in today`s world. A decline in social spending, such as subsidies for public health, education, transport, food and fertilizers, has been a crucial element of structural adjustment programmes imposed on many countries by the international financial institutions. This decline has had a catastrophic impact on the quality of life of the population in general and on disadvantaged communities such as women in particular. (For more information, see Module 26.) Patriarchal norms that deny women the right to make decisions about their sexuality and reproduction expose them to preventable risks of morbidity and mortality, from sexually transmitted infections through forced sex to death from septic abortion, as access to safe abortion has been denied by state law. The practice of unprotected sex by large groups of men aware of health risks can only be declared acceptable and/or desirable male sexual behavior in terms of gender norms.
A new consortium of DFID`s Mental Health Research Programme (RPC)39, led by South Africa, is currently studying the integration of mental health into government policies and legislation in four countries. DFID-funded mental health policy development projects in Kenya and Tanzania and mental health reforms in Russia for situation assessment, policy development and implementation have provided much-needed information on how to improve health care and integrate mental health into health sector reform initiatives.34, 40,41,42 We discuss the social and economic challenges facing mental health, highlighting implementation issues at the national level and in the global development agenda, and highlighting obvious gaps in the global mental illness financing architecture. Our analysis demonstrates the clear need to provide more international funding to address increasing mental illness in low- and middle-income countries and to integrate mental health at all levels of the health sector, particularly at the primary health care level, into overall health policies and the basic health care package in order to adopt a holistic and client-centred approach. mental health care. Expand health care and contribute to better achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Such an integrated approach will ensure that mental health has a budget line and will also enable approaches to mental health in other budgets and initiatives (e.g. the Global Fund and the International Health Partnership). Integration in the non-health sector, particularly in the areas of education, social protection, employment, social affairs, agriculture and enterprise development, and the criminal justice system, is also essential. Building partnerships and mobilizing existing financial and human resources are critical to the development of sustainable mental health care for the general population. The mental health sector needs to forge partnerships based on collaborative education, research and mutual dialogue with other health and other sectors to improve the use of broader mental health budgets and initiatives. The next article in this series will examine international and national policy challenges related to the inclusion of mental health in the global development agenda.2 Poor mental health during childhood and adolescence increases the risk of poverty and other negative economic impacts in adulthood. About 10% of children and between 10% and 15% of young adults worldwide suffer from mental health problems.
Longitudinal studies in a number of high-income countries show that untreated mental health and behavioural problems in childhood and adolescence can have profound long-term social and economic consequences in adulthood. These include lower levels of education, increased contact with the criminal justice system, lower employment levels (with lower wages for employment), and personal relationship difficulties.12–15 We highlighted the health, social and economic impact of poor mental health, and we also reflected on the need to focus more on economic research in order to invest in mental health. I would like to ask the Commissioner whether he is prepared to accept the Commission`s proposal. We now turn to the issues of policy development and implementation by examining the different approaches that have been used, examining how services can be expanded, and examining the role that primary health care can play in this process. The following is an analysis of the steps needed to improve the global mental health architecture to support this process. Because women and men do not have equal access to resources such as money, transportation and time, and because their decision-making power within the family is unequal and men enjoy privileges denied to women, women`s access to health services is limited. In addition, the remedial approach requires changing socially constructed differences, such as traditional roles attributed to women and men, as well as cultural practices that women consider inferior. An example of such a definition of health is a condition characterized by anatomical, physiological and psychological integrity and performance. Addressing mental health abuses in some low- and middle-income countries is critical to addressing human rights, as highlighted in the recent United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.43 People with serious mental illness in parts of Africa and Asia can sometimes be chained due to lack of access to effective health interventions. “ensure their safety”; cut with razor blades or beaten by faith in the possession of the spirit; and avoided due to misunderstandings about contagion. Serving these people and enabling them to participate actively in society is not only a matter of need, but a matter of human dignity.
A human rights-based approach, supported by the Global Mental Health Architecture, as a lever for mental health policy and implementation is discussed in more detail in the final section of this paper. In a case concerning inheritance rights, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe issued a landmark decision in April 1999 giving primacy to customary law over the Constitution. In this case, Venia Magaya, a 58-year-old seamstress, sued her half-brother for possession of her late father`s land after her brother evicted her from the house. According to the Zimbabwean constitution, Magaya had a right to land. However, the court unanimously ruled that women should not be able to inherit land “because of the consideration in African society, which was, among other things, that women were unable to care for their family of origin (birth) because of their commitment to the new family (through marriage).” Governments are responding to what they see as the core priorities of donors, who need to communicate more clearly that, given their burden, including increasing the increased risk of ill physical health, addressing mental illness should be a priority.