News

Mental health is a fundamental human right and therefore also a right of children and young people to which it is important to inform and raise awareness.

The National Commission for the Promotion of the Rights and Protection of Children and Youth (CNPDPCJ) World Mental Health Day, celebrated annually on 10 October since its inception in 1992, at the initiative of the then Deputy Secretary General of the World Federation for Mental Health, with the aim of raising community-wide awareness of critical mental health issues through collaboration with various partners to act and create lasting change.

Over time, the growing relevance of the date has made it a platform for the development of initiatives focused on various aspects of mental health care by governments, organizations and individuals, including the Steering Committee on the Rights of the Child of the Council of Europe (CDENF), which today is also associated with the celebration of this World Day with the launch of a Mapping Study on Children's Access to Quality Mental Health Care.

The study - which includes information from 21 Council of Europe Member States, including Portugal - was approved at the 9th CDENF Plenary Meeting, held in Strasbourg from 28 to 30 May 2024, and presents the main conclusions and recommendations in three areas:

• Availability of mental health services, covering geographical disparities and waiting times, as well as availability of trained professionals;
• Accessibility of mental health services for children, including funding schemes, parental authorisation and consent and use of digital spaces; e
• The quality of mental health care provided to children, including care standards, as well as various types of mental health care, including preventive care and community-based care.