Erbil, 27 February 2012 –Under the patronage of H.E Dr Taher Hawrami, the Minister of Health of Kurdistan, Iraq, the Ministry of Health of the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Ministry of Health of Iraq, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, are conducting a workshop from 27 to 29 February 2012 in Erbil, Iraq. The workshop will review capacity-building activities, conducted in the governorates in 2011, and exchange experiences and lessons learned in implementation of mental health in primary health care services. The workshop will also focus on promoting local capacity in the areas of supervision, monitoring and reporting of mental health activities at primary health care level. Directors of primary mental health units in governorates and other relevant officers from the Ministries of Health will attend the workshop.
HE Dr Hawrami the Minister of Health in KRG-Iraq, Dr Khabat Khaled, Prime minister advisor- health and Eng, Mohammad Hamasha WHO Officer in Charge (MoH, 2012)
“Sensitization of health workers on the situation and role of mental health as a basic foundation for individual well-being and the effective functioning of a community is the main objective”, said H.E Dr Taher Hawrami. He noted, “In Iraq, about 35% of Iraqi people are suffering from distress and 16% have had at least one mental illness during their lifetime, while only 2.2% of people who are mentally ill receive mental health services. This is an alarming sign that requires urgent and early intervention, better services and public awareness.
Dr Syed Jaffar Hussein, WHO Representative for Iraq, said, “WHO is keen to support the Government of Iraq in achieving its goal of strengthening and promoting the mental health programme in Iraq”.
WHO mental health training modules, finalized in May 2011, have been adapted by Iraq, and in addition, 57 four-day national training sessions for general practitioners and nurses at primary health care level have been successfully conducted – three for each directorate of health. A total of 1685 health professionals have been trained, of whom 1218 were male and 467 female.
