About Office of International Health and International Professional Education
Launched in April 2003, the Office of International Health (OIH) promotes and facilitates international health promotion, clinical training and education initiatives on behalf of CAMH, and plays a critical role in the efforts of CAMH to strengthen global mental health and addiction capacity.

Geographic focus:                                               

 

Africa      (Nigeria,Tanzania, others)                                      

Canada  

 

Goals and Objectives

Improving Care and Enhancing Health

• Partner with health professionals, policy planners, health officials and academics in developing countries to strengthen standards and practises of care and prevention through training and technical support that is client-centred, health promoting and culturally competent, as well as cost-effective.

Discovering, Sharing and Applying New Knowledge

• Design and deliver customized courses in addiction, mental health and concurrent disorders, as well as addiction and mental health certificate programs, in areas of the South
• Provide support in the design and implementation of graduate programs in addiction and mental health;
• Provide global forums for exchanging cultural knowledge, best practices, local innovations and new developments in research
  

Influencing Public Policy and Promoting Positive System Change

• Collaborate with others to ensure that health, especially mental health, is addressed in Canada's international affairs agenda
• Promote international mental health and addiction issues on the basis of a human dignity concept that requires both individual and collective responsibility for global mental health promotion and prevention of addiction and mental illness

Ensuring Long Term Development

• Build diverse types of partnerships to ensure greater long term stability and sustainability

Contact Information

Phone: 416-535-8501 ext. 6090

Location: Rm. 4082, 33 Russell, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2S1

Overview:  Addiction and Mental Health Challenges in Developing Countries

In high- and low-income countries alike, mental illness, addiction problems and high-risk behaviors contribute to profound suffering and loss at the level of the individual and the state.   Recently available statistics (WHO 2001 Report) suggest that the disease burden due to mental and behavioral disorders is substantial and continues to grow.  

The enormous scale of the burden of mental illness and addiction is much worse in low-income countries due to the large, and growing, numbers of people living in extreme poverty.  20th century gains made in the areas of economics, technology, education, and overall standard of living are now being offset by a rise in mental and behavioral problems

Mental health policies, legislation, community care facilities, and treatments for the mentally ill are dismally lacking in many countries due to limited resources. Lacking proper diagnosis and treatment, millions of individual lives are thus being lost to disability and, in some cases, death. There are other costs as well, both personal and economic, which are borne by the families of the affected individuals, by their communities, and by their societies at large. Adding to the tragedy is the fact that there are effective and affordable ways to treat, or even prevent, many disorders that remain unaddressed in developing country health systems.

 

- CAMH Annual Report to the Community 2006-2007: International Health Programs
        - Connecting CAMH expertise to needs around the globe
        - Building capacity in Sri Lanka

 

- CAMH Research Report 2006-2007: International Health Programs  (PDF)

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• The Centre for International Health, University of Toronto
• Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto
• Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
• Canadian Society for International Health

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Content updated: April 01, 2011 3:33 PM

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