Mental health project for tsunami-affected communities in southern Sri Lanka

In late 2006, Cathy Deane led a 3-person team to Sri Lanka to design a community mental health project for implementation in the Southern Province. A community-based approach to mental health service delivery is a feature of the Sri Lankan Mental Health Policy 2005-2015, which was prepared with assistance from the World Health Organization and launched in early 2006. The 3-year project has been designed as part of World Vision Australia’s continuing commitment to supporting the people of Sri Lanka who were affected by the December 2004 tsunami. An innovation in the design for WVA is the partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka and the WHO. Rather than set up new project structures and systems, the emphasis will be on supporting and strengthening existing successful partnerships, administrative systems and structures. The objective of the project is to pilot implementation of the new community mental health policies in Hambantota District in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.