SDC Global Programme Health expends its portfolio on NCDs and determinants of health, by supporting a global initiative on mental health designed and developed together with WHO and USAID.

Mental health conditions include mental, neurological and substance use disorders, suicide risk and associated psychosocial, cognitive and intellectual disabilities. There is clear evidence that people living with mental health illnesses are more likely to face other physical health problems (e.g. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, non-communicable diseases), causing early mortality of at least 10 years. Suicide mortality is particularly high (close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds), disproportionately affecting young people and elderly women in low- and middle-income countries. Mental health conditions are especially common for people affected by adversity, including poverty, childhood maltreatment, and violence. 
 
Despite mental disorders leading to more than US$1 trillion per year in economic losses, global health initiatives mainly focus on physical health, while mental health and social well-being remain largely neglected. Estimates show that mental health receives less than 1% of international aid for health. There is urgent need to globally scale up access to mental health services. 
 
In complementarity with and building on work carried out at country level by the World Health Organization (WHO), including in collaboration with SDC, WHO has developed a Special Initiative for Mental Health to support renewed efforts in implementing the global WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, to advance the Agenda 2030 and achieve Universal Health Coverage. By 2023, the Initiative aims to improve access to quality and affordable community-based mental health services for 100 million more people. This Initiative is designed to work towards the WHO 13th General Program of Work (2019-2023) targets of increasing coverage for people with severe mental health conditions by 50% and reducing suicide mortality by 15% globally. These targets directly link to the SDG targets - 3.4: a one third reduction of premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention, treatment and promotion of mental health and well-being; and 3.5: strengthening the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
 
The Initiative builds on innovative approaches in mental health supported by SDC in Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine. Having demonstrated promising results at country level, this experience will be leveraged at global level in feeding the policy and advocacy dialogue and adapted to other countries.  Indeed SDC good practices in BiH, Moldova and Ukraine have been shared with a large audience of Member States representatives and experts recently at the opening plenary of the WHO Mental Health Forum 2019.
 
Successful Swiss models introduced in Eastern Europe such as for example, the case management approach (coordinated care) or new forms of occupational therapy (therapy based on engagement in meaningful activities to enable participation in such activities despite impairments in mental functioning), will be further scaled up and disseminated.
 
The Initiative will significantly contribute to further positioning SDC as one of the key stakeholders in a sector where few donors are investing. Finally, by addressing mental health conditions, SDC is well positioned to also positively influence outcomes in all areas of health, such as non-communicable diseases and social determinants. 

enrichetta.placella@eda.admin.ch