World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day (WICAMHD)
The initiation of a World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day (WICAMHD) to:
- Recognize the global importance of infant, child and adolescent mental health.
- Advocate for the promotion of mental health and prevention of mental illness in infants, children and adolescents.
23 April 2023 is declared as World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day (WICAMHD) by 4 organisations:
World Psychiatric Association Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section (WPA-CAP)
International Society for Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology
Background
Children and adolescents form a third of the world's population. Research has demonstrated that adverse experiences in childhood impact lifelong mental and physical health. Most mental disorders develop in childhood and adolescence (before the age of 25), and one-quarter of disability-adjusted life years for mental and substance use disorders occur in youths. The prevalence of mental disorders continues to rise in the young and is higher than adults. The need to improve understanding of this as well as to create awareness of its importance in families, communities and societies cannot be underestimated.
Purpose
We propose to initiate a World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day (WICAMHD) on 23 April annually to bring global awareness and literacy to this issue and bring the relevant professional agencies committed to this cause together.
Objective
The objectives of the World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day (WICAMHD) are to:
- Improve global public awareness about child and adolescent mental health.
- Create literacy and competencies in the promotion of child and adolescent mental health as well as reduce the stigma of mental disorders in these populations.
- Improve diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of child and adolescent mental disorders through international cooperation and understanding.
- Reach out to countries with scarce resources to develop child and adolescent mental health professionals.
Logo
The logo for this year is the following which represents the child in its various developmental phases against the backdrop of the world in which the young person is developing. The hand drawn picture represents how children need to grow in a supportive benevolent environment. The hearts in each person represents the need for love and compassion as they grow. The logo is titled “Mind the Heart for the World” and is drawn by Daniel Fung and Wesley Tay.
How to support WICAMHD
- Share the logo widely.
- Use social media to spread your message about the importance of mental health in the young.
- Please involve your communications teams and do it on all websites and social media platforms you are on.
- We suggest the following hashtags.
- #WICAMHD
- #infantchildadolescentmentalhealth
- #worldmindyourheart
