World Mental Health Day marked on October 10

World Mental Health Day on 10 October raises public awareness about mental health issues. The day promotes more open discussion of illnesses, and investments in prevention and treatment services. Given that more persons suffer from mental, neurological and behavioural disorders, which cause immense suffering and stagger economic and social costs, it is very important to prevent such diseases and promote mental health, the Ministry of Health says in a communiqué, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. The treatment of patients in a native environment and the ensuring of accessible and varied services of a high quality play a crucial role in improving their situation. Therefore, community psychiatry is developed by creating Community Mental Health Centers, which focus on the psychosocial reintegration of the beneficiaries. The Ministry of Health of Moldova and the Government of Switzerland signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the Moldovan- Swedish project “Development of Community Mental Health Services in Moldova”, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The project aims to establish a functional system of Community Mental Health Services in Moldova. ANational Mental Health Center will be set up as part of the project. There will be worked out mechanisms for developing the community services. The project’s cost is 6 400 000 lei. According to the Ministry of Health, in Moldova there are over 94,000 persons suffering from mental disorders, which are among the first ten causes for invalidity.