London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

A new gift of of  £355,276 to support the training of future leaders in the field of mental health has been received by the Centre for Global Mental Health.

Nine scholarships will support MSc candidates in Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry. The gift was made by Janssen Pharmaceutica, NV, a Johnson & Johnson company.

Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “Lack of mental health care remains one of the most neglected problems worldwide. Hundreds of millions of people around the world with mental, neurological or substance-use disorders do not receive even the most basic care, even though effective and low-cost treatments exist. Our MSc in Global Mental Health trains mental health leaders to improve access to care in countries around the world, and we are delighted to be working on this pioneering programme with the Institute of Psychiatry.”

MSc in Global Mental Health students receive training in epidemiological and health services research methods to equip them to monitor and evaluate mental health programmes. They also learn to devise locally appropriate and feasible strategies to reduce burden of mental health disorders at every level, from national health policy and systems to individual clinical interventions.

Janssen has supported 18 full scholarships through at the Centre for Global Mental Health, including this new grant and contributions to the fund in the 2013-14 academic year. Janssen made the gift as part of its global ‘Healthy Minds’ programme to encourage collaboration among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and public-sector organisations to accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic solutions for neurologic and brain diseases.

The gift was announced at a ceremony at the School attended by senior academics at the Centre for Global Mental Health and both parent institutions, as well as current scholarship recipients.