Answer given by Mr Mimica on behalf of the Commission
6.7.2017
The project was funded under the Non State Actors and Local Authorities in Development initiative for a duration of 36 months. Its aim was to reinforce the capacities of Chinese civil society organisations and their role in social services delivery in partnership with local authorities.
Through this initiative, the EU seeks to contribute to the development of civil society organisations in China that may function as actors separate from Government and to promote an inclusive and equitable society in China for people with mental health conditions in line with the overall objectives of the thematic programme.
1. As a result of this project, 10 community mental health centres were opened by local authorities in partnership with Chinese civil society organisations. Through these centres, assistance was provided to date to 3874 people with mental health conditions in four Chinese districts (Ha'rbin, Changchun, Yanqing, Tongling).2. A 2012 study estimated that the number of individuals with mental disorders reached 173 million throughout China, of which 4.3 million were severe[1]. Those individuals face the deficiencies of an understaffed psychiatric system (less than two psychiatrists per 100 000 population[2]) and social stigma. The Chinese Government approved the first National Mental Health Law in May 2013 and subsequently the ‘National Mental Health Work Plan (2015-2020)’. This new legal framework represented an opportunity for Chinese civil society to participate in social policies and for the EU to support the process through this project.
- [1] The Lancet, ‘Mental Health in China: Challenges and progress’, 2012 (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2811%2960893-3/fulltext)
- [2] WHO, « Mental Health Atlas, Country profile for China », 2014: http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/mental_health_atlas_2014/en/