Here you will get the summary of Chapter 4, “What is being done” Section

Unicef recently published a report with the title “The State of the World’s Children 2021”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about the mental health of a generation of children. But the pandemic may represent the tip of a mental health iceberg we’ve long overlooked. State of the World’s Children 2021 examines child, adolescent, and caregiver mental health. It focuses on risks and protective factors at critical moments in the life course and explores the social determinants that shape mental health and well-being.

It calls for commitment, communication, and action as part of a comprehensive approach to promoting good mental health for every child, protecting vulnerable children, and caring for the children facing their greatest challenges.” 1

In the past decade, global mental health advocates have come together to promote initiatives that raise awareness and address children and young people’s mental health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also been involved in such efforts.

WHO has made significant contributions in the past decades through the ‘WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan’, or MHAP. Established in 2013, the MHAP features four objectives that guide countries’ ineffective leadership and governance; comprehensive and integrated services in communities, implementation strategies for promotion and prevention; and strengthened information systems, evidence, and research. In 2019, the MHAP extended to 2030 to align the timeline for the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, WHO has also issued guidance on interventions for preventing and managing precarious mental health, neurological, and substance use disorders such as depression, suicide, and behavioral disorders.

Beyond the realm of healthcare, there have been additional efforts to tackle mental health issues. Various international organizations, including the UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank, have developed the Nurturing Care Framework to address early developmental challenges. In addition, UNICEF has provided parenting guidance to provide support to caregivers and adolescents’ parents.

The financial aspect of mental health initiatives remains one of the world’s significant issues, particularly in developing. A reason for it is the lack of money to afford such financing. WHO indicates that, in some of the world’s poorest countries, governments spend less than US$1 per person on treating mental health issues. Per capita income refers to the average income of individuals in the country. In upper-middle-income countries, expenditure is around US$3 per person. Likewise, in low-income countries, median government spending on mental health per capita was US$0.08; in lower-middle-income countries, it was US$0.37; in upper-middle-income countries, it was US$3.29; and in high-income countries, US$52.73. The stark difference in the expenditure on mental health per person between developing and developed countries illustrates an evident lack of capital investment by developing countries on mental health issues.

Across the developing world, various governments have tackled mental health problems across multiple sections of society, including young people. An example of this is the SEHER Strengthening Evidence Base on School-Based Interventions for Promoting Adolescent Health. SEHER, the Bihar-based Indian program is a whole-school, multicomponent mental health promotion program operating and testing on a large-scale basis. It features activities for all students while offering individualized counseling for students in need. It works in conjunction with a life-skills training program integrated into classrooms. Evaluations showed that the program succeeded by creating a positive school atmosphere that featured strong, nurturing relationships between teachers and students and fostered a sense of belonging among students, resulting in lower rates of depression, bullying, and violence. In contrast, when teachers delivered the intervention, there was little effect.

Furthermore, the ‘Ujana Salama’ program in Tanzania seeks to address mental health issues through its implementation in tandem with social services, combining a cash transfer program for adolescents aged 14-19 along with in-person training, mentoring, grants, and healthcare services. An evaluation of the program indicated that the program led to a reduction in depressive symptoms. After a year, male and female adolescents exhibited improved mental health and self-esteem and demonstrated greater knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and HIV. Studies of the program also indicated decreases in sexual violence and increases in school attendance among girls. These examples suggest that efforts to improve the mental health of the world’s population are being addressed beyond the World Health Organisation.

PART 2 – Dealing with data

How WHO and other institutions have contributed to the improvements in efforts to collect mental health-related data

Part of the data and research problem is the lack of funding. In 2019, investment in mental health research amounted to about 50 cents per person per year, based on a population of 7.7 billion, and stark inequalities mean that only 2.4% of this funding was spent in low and middle-income countries. Only 33% of the total spent on mental health research involves adolescents.

Collecting data requires definitions of mental health conditions that can be applied in different settings and cultural contexts. Indeed, context can determine how mental health conditions present and how symptoms are interpreted. In addition, it is essential to capture information on experiences that do not necessarily meet the definitions of diagnosable disorders.

UNICEF, WHO, and other key partners have embarked on the ‘Measurement of Mental Health Among Adolescents at the Population Level’, or MMAP, a robust and methodological approach to collecting and managing mental health data for adolescents.

Research efforts are also underway to make critical links between mental health and social determinants that put children and young people at risk. For instance, CHANCES-6, a project of the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre at the London School of Economics, has engaged in a large-scale research program investigating the link between poverty, mental health, and life chances for young people from low-income backgrounds. The program was underway from 2018 to 2021 in Brazil, Colombia, Liberia, Malawi, Mexico, and South Africa. Their methods focused on examining the impact of cash transfer programs on mental health and the impact of mental health programs on poverty.

Summarized by Aniruddh Rajendran 

Writing a project requires people to spend time in understanding what is expected by donors who want to fund the project, deciding on the ideas of a project in consultation with the organization and other interested parties/stakeholders, deciding on the budget with interested parties/stakeholders and finally writing project proposal. In a three-part article written by broken chalk concerning the requirements of how to write a project proposal for EU projects Broken chalk made various suggestions on how to write a project proposal. Through this article, we will provide applicants with a brief guide on how what they should be doing before they start writing a project proposal for any project be it in the European Union or not. 

Understanding what is expected by donors who want to fund the project: 

Before applicants begin to write the project they must have a thorough understanding of what is expected to be written as a part of the project proposal by donors. This is our experience in Broken Chalk. 

To illustrate this we would like to provide an example of a project which is posted on the grants and tenders section of the European Union. The project that the Broken Chalk is working on is a project titled “Conditions for the successful development of skills matched to needs”. There is a description of the project on the funding and opportunities page of the EU website. We went through the various annexes of the general EU guidelines as well as the call document to understand the needs of the EU donors for the specific project. 

Applicants need to ensure that they need to go through various documents, again and again, to ensure that they have a precise understanding of the needs of the donors who in the case of the project that the Broken Chalk is pursuing is the European Union. 

Deciding on a concrete idea for the project: 

Before starting to write a project applicants should take time to decide on a concrete idea for a project. The broken chalk is in the process of seeking ideas from its volunteers, interns as well as people in the organization responsible for project management on the project titled “Conditions for the successful development of skills matched to needs”. 

It is suggested to the applicants that they consult as many people as possible and make a note of as many ideas as possible with many people so that there are options from which the best possible option can be selected. When selecting the best possible option for applicants should consult with the board of the organization so that the viewpoint of the organization is represented in the formation of the idea of the project. Consultation with the board will be especially useful in a situation where no other members of an organization are willing to contribute to various ideas. 

Budgeting for a project: 

Once an idea has been agreed upon then it is strongly recommended that applicants start budgeting for the project. Budgeting is the idea that there must be an account for how much will be spent on what items of the project. 

Applicants must remember that the process of budgeting is not as simple as just including the costs of a product. Therefore, they must keep adequate time in hand to ensure that there is a proper account for the items on which they would like to spend. The project idea should drive the costs of the project that is budgeted. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that applicants have a concrete idea in mind and it is agreed upon with the board of the organization before starting the process of budgeting. There is also a need to have an understanding of the top line support budget that the EU or other institutes have to offer so that the idea takes this factor into consideration. 

When budgeting for a project for the EU or other financial institutions there is a need to consider both personnel and direct costs of the project. Personnel costs take into consideration the cost of employing people. e.g. salary of people. Direct costs take into consideration the costs of the project. For example, if a massive room has to be built to teach students then the project costs should include the cost of building material such as brick and steel. The budgeting of the project ideas must at least 90% of the time account for contingencies as well as overhead costs. Overhead costs refer to costs of operating a business minus the direct costs. Contingencies are supposed to be utilized during the case of any emergencies.  All of these costs (contingencies and overheads only when needed) need to be accounted for and only then should be sent to the European Union. As a rule, 10% of the overall costs and 5% of the overall costs are dedicated to overhead costs and contingencies respectively. 

It is recommended that applicants send the budget estimate of the project in the form of a Microsoft Excel document to donors whether in the European Union or elsewhere. 

For posts on how to write EU projects refer to:

Written by – R.Aniruddh