WHO QualityRights e-training on mental health targets training 5 m people by 2024

12 / 04 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

The World Health Organization (WHO) QualityRights e-training on mental health The goal is that 5 million people will have completed the training by the end of 2024.

Close to one billion people have a mental health condition and anyone, anywhere, can be affected. Yet despite the universal nature and the magnitude of mental health conditions, the gap between demand for mental health services and supply remains substantial.

Relatively few people around the world have access to quality mental health services, and stigma, discrimination and human rights abuses of people with mental health conditions remain widespread.

Through the QualityRights initiative, WHO is supporting governments and policy-makers to transform mental health systems so that they are based on recovery, rights, and inclusion.

Particular focus has been given to reforming policy, law and services as well as actions to build the capacity of key stakeholder groups to address stigma and discrimination and to understand and implement rights-based approaches in services and the community more broadly.

As part of this work, several key capacity-building tools have been developed, including the QualityRights e-training platform on Mental health, Recovery and Community Inclusion.

Feedback from early adopter countries of this online training has been very positive, with evaluations indicating significant shifts in mindsets on issues such as providing people with choice and information about treatment options; implementation of alternatives to seclusion and restraint; and promotion of recovery, hope and community inclusion.

This global launch of the training is expected to create significant momentum for an accelerated roll-out to thousands more people in many more countries. At launch, nearly 30 000 people have completed the training. The goal is that 5 million people will have completed the training by the end of 2024.