Zeitschrift für Alzheimer-Krankheit und Parkinsonismus

Abstrakt

United Nations and World Health Organization Engagement in Treating Global Mental Health, with a Special Focus on Vascular Dementia

Daniela Fisichella

A meaningful attention of International Law, and most of International Organizations, is drawn to mental health and to mental illness in XXI century. As a consequence of human rights huge extension, mental health is nowadays a target of international efforts striving to address both state behavior and international achievements. World Health Organization (WHO) is expressly engaged, but United Nations (UN) showed the path in early nineties, by UN General Assembly (UNGA) 46/119 of 17 December 1991. The protection of persons with mental illness and the improvement of mental health care, where mental health care and facilities are pointed out; and if mental illness couldn’t be defined, Principle 4 (Determination of mental illness) of this Resolution is crucial to direct next improvements layout. From there, UN and WHO have been carrying on   a unique approach to mental health, as proved by binding and not binding international acts, surveys, guidelines – as the 2010 WHO mhGAP Intervention Guide - adopted as a result of states consultation. UNGA Resolution 70/1 of 21 October 2015, Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, envisaging 17 Sustainable Development Goals (replacing past 8 Millennium Development Goals to be gained in 2015 at last) is the last step on the road of a global approach to health, intended as physical and as mental within an holistic view of human beings..

As stated in Declaration’s Introduction 4 no one will be left behind and 7 A world with equitable and universal access to quality education at all levels to health care and social protection where physical, mental and social well-being are assured. The paper aims to investigate mental health as an international legal issue on a broad sense, meaning it not only as lack of mental illness, but in a comprehensive view and vascular dementia prevention above other mental diseases is perceived in a global frame of domestic economic and social balance.