Youth participation laboratory analyzed mental health as the axis of public policies

Photo Agency IP.

Asunción, IP Agency.- This Monday the first session of the “Youth Participation Laboratory” was held, which analyzed in a panel among experts, authorities and young people the challenges and solutions in public policies for mental health.

The Youth Participation Laboratory is a participatory proposal for the exchange of experiences and the proposal of programs for specific problems.

Mental health was chosen as the first topic considering that the UNFPA and IDB Youth Report ranks Paraguay as the fourth country in the region with the highest mental health vulnerability index, following the covid-19 pandemic.

The discussion was entitled “Youth and Mental and Emotional Health: Challenges and Solutions for Public Policies” and featured presentations by Lenildo de Moura, PAHO/WHO Mental Health Advisor; Carlos Manuel de Sousa Santos, director of the Human Power Hub of Portugal and advisor to the Erasmus + Program of the European Union; and Leire Pajín Iraola, President of the EU-LAC Foundation (by videoconference).

For Paraguay, Dr. Mirta Rodríguez, director of Mental Health of the MSPBS; and Diana Rodríguez, WHO/PAHO Paraguay National Consultant.

The meeting was opened by the Minister of the National Youth Secretariat (SNJ), Edgar Colmán, along with the Secretary General of the International Youth Organization (OIJ), Max Trejo; and Estefania Laterza, representative of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).

The head of the SNJ commented that during the Youth Republic Forum (6 held at the regional level and one national) the young participants spoke regarding concerns and priorities, including mental health, it drew a lot of attention, for that reason, this first Youth Participation Laboratory in Paraguay takes this theme forward.

For his part, Max Trejo highlighted that Paraguay is the first country in Latin America to carry out the Youth Participation Laboratory, in the presence of experts and young people to co-create solutions.

The event was organized by the SNJ, the OIJ, and the CAF, in order to integrate the public and civil society agenda, bringing together people from 18 to 29 years old, with different profiles and concerns. The Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare through the National Directorate of Mental Health, and Itaipu Binacional also accompanied.