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Home Programmes Awareness and Education Advocacy Promotion Sustainable Livelihoods Research

Masculinity, Mental Health and Violence Project The Masculinity, Mental Health, and Violence project (MMHV) came about through concerns raised by Pacific Island communities. These concerns included growing numbers of out-of-school and unemployed youth, a severe shortage of employment opportunities, and the related increase of mental health problems, violence and crime. The project definition of mental health includes conditions of both mental illness/disease and mental distress; Mental illness referring to organic or functional effects on the brain or mind, and mental distress referring to one’s inability to cope with stressors and or normal circumstances. Despite proactive mental health promotion approaches both globally and nationally, mental health in the Pacific remains a disease-focused problem. Some of the effects of this have been: The exclusion of communities in a national supportive framework for of people experiencing mental distress and disease, The exclusion of people suffering from mental distress as opposed to those with a mental illness, The failure to realize the necessity of access to professional counselors, The failure to prioritize national supportive frameworks that focus on collaboration between individuals, communities, counselors, psychiatrists and, rehabilitation centers, and the legislations and policies that support these. Most Pacific Island Countries (PICs) do not have national mental health policies, let alone the supportive infrastructure or the finances to support this. The MMHV Response Development of a more holistic framework for mental health is a continuous process. The MMHV project plans to reach specific milestones that will ensure that ongoing issues are supported through affirmative policies. These milestones, of equal importance, include: The development of National Mental Health Strategic Plans or Policies A supportive framework model for PIC mental health needs, highlighting key professions, services and sectors, and required policies/legislations. The establishment of networks between national, regional, and international stakeholders Best practice models highlighting multi-sectoral collaboration between regional and national, government, NGOs and communities, Arriving at a clear definition of Mental Health in its Pacific Island context The project will achieve the above milestones through the following project components. Project Components  The project has six components that will work at both regional and national levels. They are:  Awareness and Education Advocacy Promotion Sustainable Livelihoods Research