Mental health and April 2014 EU chronic disease summit
23.4.2014
Question for written answer E-005319-14
to the Commission
Rule 117
Nessa Childers (NI) , Jean Lambert (Verts/ALE) , Marian Harkin (ALDE) , Françoise Grossetête (PPE)
We, in our role as co-chairs of the Interest Group on Mental Health, Well-being and Brain Disorders, welcome the Commission’s initiative to host a summit on chronic disease on 3 and 4 April 2014.
However, we are surprised to note that the focus is on physical health only. Mental health disorders are hardly referred to. This is a serious omission: while mental health disorders constitute an important chronic disease category in themselves, they are also inextricably linked with physical health — and this has been amply demonstrated by recent research.
Not including mental health in the summit is all the more surprising in view of the recent conclusions and ‘Vilnius Declaration’ resulting from the Lithuanian Presidency Conference on mental health and the Commission’s own recent efforts to convince the WHO to include mental health in its action plan on non-communicable diseases.
Can the Commission therefore:
- 1.provide its rationale for this omission?
- 2.remedy this situation and ensure that mental health will feature in the current and future activities addressing chronic disease?
OJ C 413, 19/11/2014