Children’s right to mental healthcare
Globally, 50% of lifetime mental health disorders begin by the age of 14, highlighting the lifelong impact that the failure of mental healthcare in childhood and adolescence can have on an individual realising their full potential and having a quality of life in adulthood.
For Human Rights day this year, the South African Society of Psychiatrists has called for the urgent implementation of the National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2023─2030 to protect children’s right to mental health care.
SASOP warns that chronic under-funding and neglect of mental healthcare represents a failure to protect the Constitutional rights, dignity and well-being of children and adolescents.
Member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists, Dr MahlatseThosago, joins us for more.
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