The United Nations Commission of Human Rights stated not only that medical treatment should be considered as a basic right for people suffering from mental illness, but also that those people have to be protected from potential dangers. There are examples all over the world that we can learn from to improve the services we provide for those suffering from mental health problems. Some examples are close to home. In the early 1990s, representatives of eleven South American countries gathered in Venezuela to analyze mental health care and suggest ways to upgrade it. The Caracas Declaration, resulting from this historic meeting, has given impetus to the reform of mental health care in several countries of the region.
Brazil is one example where considerable strides have been made.
Active participation of patients in the formulation of policies provides a strong voice to a process of change moving care from closed institutions into the community. Patients keep the agenda moving, forcing the pace of reform among both professionals and society at large. Brazil has developed innovative programs, such as the one in the city of Santos, where mental hospitals of yesteryear have given room to alternative settings of care and where consumers are gainfully employed by co-operatives. Belize is another example. With just a single psychiatrist working in the country, resources have been multiplied by training family nurses, known as psychiatric nurse practitioners, entrusted with the provision of mental health care.