Public Health, Mental Health and Human Rights

This book offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of a pilot project to build competent, sustainable and culture sensitive public mental health services in a region suffering from the impact of war, genocide and other forms of extreme violence. The project was implemented with the support of the German government and other supporters in Northern Iraq, where especially members of the Yazidi minority were exposed to multiple genocides. Mental health problems and especially trauma related sequels are a key problem in Iraq and in similar regions, and were therefore addressed by the project. The book reviews the present knowledge, the general and the health care situation in the region, further steps taken, typical challenges encountered and solutions developed in the project. It also implicitly provides guidelines for similar projects.