London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Sangath, co-founded in 1996 by Prof Vikram Patel, Professor of International Mental Health at the School, was selected by the WHO to receive the prestigious Public Health Champion award for its dedication to designing and providing innovative solutions for neglected public mental health priorities. Based in Goa, it works with the School and the Public Foundation of India, in several locations in the country.

Over the past two decades, Sangath has gained international repute for its work in India, where it aims to address the country's profound mental health treatment gap through primary care and community based workers. Sangath has previously won the MacArthur Foundation's International Prize for Creative and Effective Institutions in 2008.

The importance of this innovation is underlined by the fact that while conservative estimates suggest that about 60 million people in India live with a mental disorder, there were less than 5,000 trained mental health professionals in 2013.

To address the unmet need for mental health care, Sangath has worked in collaboration with the School to develop and evaluate treatment packages for a range of mental disorders including autism, alcohol use disorders, depression, maternal depression, schizophrenia and dementia. These packages can be delivered by appropriately trained and supervised lay workers in routine care settings. The NGO is currently engaged in a programme to develop treatments for adolescent mental health problems. 

Prof Patel said: "Mental health was recently recognised by the World Bank and WHO leaders at a high level event at the Bank as a global development priority.  There are simply not enough mental health services for people that desperately need care. Sangath has provided a model by which we can use existing resources - people living and working in the community - to change lives and bring new hope.

"We are delighted to receive this award, and hope that Sangath's low-cost, effective projects can inspire other parts of the country and the world to empower ordinary people to improve the quality of mental health care."

The annual Public Health Champion awards, which began in 2015, are given by the WHO Country Office for India to honour and recognise the efforts of both individuals and institutions who have made an outstanding contribution to public health through advocacy for and involvement in impactful health policies, strategies and programmes with proven public health achievements and substantial improvement in health outcomes with equity in the country.

Dr Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India said: "Public health is key to improving people's health. The individuals and organisations who toil hard to bring about impact, innovative and sustainable changes in this field are often unsung heroes. These awards are our attempt to bridge this gap and recognise the talented individuals and organisations in public health. We do hope that the Public Health Champions awards will encourage others to emulate them."

This awards were presented to five organisations and individuals including Prof Patel at the World Health Day 2016 celebrations in New Delhi.

Related links

• A short film by Thomson Reuters Foundation introducing the Sangath approach through the experiences of Vrunda and her counsellor, Subhash: Counsellors on motorbikes bring depression care to homes in Goa
• Prof Vikram Patel's TED Talk: Mental health for all by involving all

Related study

• MSc Global Mental Health