Cyprus is represented in the European project Joint Action PRISM (Prevention-oriented Rights-based approach to Support Mental health in vulnerable population groups) by the Mental Health Services Directorate of the State Health Services Organisation (OKYPY).
The project brings together 59 organisations from 20 countries, with the aim of improving mental health among vulnerable social groups.
According to an announcement by OKYPY, the JA PRISM, funded with pound 6 million under the EU4Health programme and coordinated by Biosistemak in Bilbao, Spain, seeks to reduce the burden of mental disorders and strengthen prevention, equitable access, and the promotion of mental health across EU Member States and associated countries.
The kick-off meeting of the project took place in Bilbao last month, ‘marking the launch of a joint European effort to establish a unified, rights-based, and person-centred framework for action in the field of mental health’.
Within the framework of JA PRISM, three human rights-based practices will be implemented, focusing on vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, older adults, migrants, people with addictions, and individuals with mental health conditions, it said. These include the ‘BIZI Programme’, focused on suicide prevention, ‘Circle of Friends’, addressing loneliness among the elderly, and ‘Act, Belong, Commit’, which promotes mental wellbeing among children and young people.
Through its participation, OKYPY’s Mental Health Services Directorate ‘strengthens Cyprus’s voice in European initiatives on prevention, promotion, and equitable access to mental health services, contributing to the transfer and implementation of best practices’, it said.
OKYPY also notes that its Mental Health Services Directorate coordinates and develops prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation services in the field of mental health, aiming to promote the population’s mental wellbeing and raise public awareness on mental health issues.