The Cost of Neglecting Mental Health: Daily Brief

Governments should make mental health a priority and scale up community services at Global Mental Health Summit; thousands of children sexually abused by Catholic clergy in France; older people and people with disabilities particularly at risk of heat-related illness and death; crushing dissent in Singapore; some hope for Philippine’s victims of “drug-war” killings; trial against former Qatar 2022 FIFA official marked by allegations of intimidation and coercion; and some good news ahead of Iraq’s elections next weekend.

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As governments gather in Paris today for a Global Mental Health Summit, they should make mental health a priority and commit to developing rights-respecting & community-based services that empower people to live independently. Spending $1 on mental health services can yield a return of $4 in the form of improved productivity and health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has found. Nevertheless, and although mental health issues have increased since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments have long neglected to invest in mental health services.

In breaking news: some 216,000 children have been victims of abuse by members of the Catholic clergy in France since 1950, an inquiry into abuses by Church members has found. The "vast majority" of victims were pre-adolescent boys, the report, which was made public today, says. The scandal is the latest to hit the Roman Catholic Church, which has been rocked by sexual abuse revelations around the world.  

In a report examining the impact of heatwaves on people with disabilities and older people in British Columbia, Canada, Human Rights Watch found that people with disabilities and older people are at particular risk of heat-related illness and death. Social isolation and poverty increase these risks.

Rights groups have warned that a law aimed at preventing foreign interference in domestic politics which Singapore’s parliament passed last night, and which allows authorities to block internet content they deem hostile is a tool to crush dissent and “institutionalises the persecution of any domestic entity that does not toe the line”.  The bill, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says, carries “the seeds of the worst totalitarian leanings". Independent media have faced increasing pressure in the city-state.

Rampant impunity has long protected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, whose “war on drugs” has cost at least 6,000 people — but likely closer to 30,000 — across the country their lives since 2016. But with the International Criminal Court (ICC) having formally opened an investigation into allegations that Duterte committed crimes against humanity there is now some hope that those responsible for the thousands of drug war killings may face consequences.

The trial against former media and communications director for Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup organizers, Abdullah Ibhais, has been marked by allegations of intimidation and coercion. The 35-year-old Jordanian who is appealing a five-year prison sentence for alleged corruption offences, had been critical of the handling of a migrant workers’ strike in Qatar in August 2019, which Human Rights Watch and Migrant-Rights.org documented at the time. A third and possibly final session in his appeal hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

And lastly, Iraq will hold parliamentary elections next weekend, yet still many people with disabilities are effectively denied their right to vote due to discriminatory legislation and inaccessible polling places. In a public campaign Human Rights Watch urged Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to improve access to polling places for people with disabilities. The good news is: the IHEC is one of the very few institutions in Iraq that has engaged seriously with our concerns

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