It’s no secret that the pandemic had a detrimental effect on mental health, especially for children. However, before the pandemic, 1 billion people worldwide experienced mental health or substance use disorders. Two-thirds of the world’s children live in states affected by conflict, posing a substantial risk to the next generation’s long-term psychological and physical health ( Casey, 2021, para 4).
As a strong proponents of global children’s mental health, U.S. Senator Bob Casey, representative Ted Deutch, and representative Joe Wilson introduced the Mental Health in International Development and Humanitarian Settings( MINDS Act) to improve global mental health outcomes June 17th, 2021.
The MINDS Act will promote the integration of mental health services into US foreign aid programming, emphasizing children, their families, and other vulnerable populations.
Here’s how it works. There will be a coordinator for mental health and psychosocial support(MHPSS). The coordinator will be in charge of forming and chairing a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Working Group and guiding, overseeing, and supporting MHPSS integration within US foreign aid programs.
The MHPSS group will foster inter-bureau and inter-agency collaboration on MHPSS programming and best practices and maintain sustainability and continuity across foreign aid programs and manage MHPSS program execution.
The program is evidence-based, culturally competent, and responsive to children in adversity.
The Mind’s Act is significant as it is the first U.S. bill to require mental health services in foreign aid programs and could change mental healthcare for the better.
As you may have noticed, this bill was introduced last year; however, thus far, it hasn’t made it past the House yet. To support and help this bill become a law, you can email and/or tweet out the message to congress using a template Unicef has provided.
Here is the link to support the Mind’s Act:
https://www.unicefusa.org/help/advocate/child-protection-and-inclusion/minds-act
References
Minds act. UNICEF USA. (n.d.). Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://www.unicefusa.org/help/advocate/child-protection-and-inclusion/minds-act
Casey, B. (n.d.). Mental health in international development and . Retrieved May 19, 2022, https://www.casey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/casey_deutch_mhpss_bill_section_by_section.pdf
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