Brasília, June 9, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The World Health Organization (WHO) will propose that other countries adopt the principles of Brazil's new policy on mental health, launched on May 28 by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The announcement was made by the Director of the WHO's Department of Mental Health and Drug Addiction, Benedetto Saraceno, in a letter sent to the Ministry of Health.

Saraceno highlighted the importance of the new measure implemented by Brazil in the sense of assuring full citizenship and improving the living conditions of people who suffer from mental disturbances. He reiterated that "in the Brazilian example, we encounter a new incentive, which we intend to propagate and share with other countries and regions."

Brazil's new policy is based on the Return Home program, which envisions the reintegration of the mentally disturbed with society through treatment outside the confines of hospitals and asylums. The chief instrument of this policy is a R$ 240.00 monthly stipend for psycho-social rehabilitation. (DAS)