Report from the <scp>WPA</scp> Secretary for Scientific Sections
Authors: Armen Soghoyan
Journal: World Psychiatry (2024)

WPA Scientific Sections are established and discontinued by the General Assembly on the proposal of the Executive Committee1. There were 55 Scientific Sections in 2004, 65 in 2006, 68 in 2013. Currently there are 66 Scientific Sections and four Special Interest Groups. Their coordination is under the responsibility of the Secretary for Scientific Sections2. The aims of WPA Scientific Sections are the collection, analysis, presentation and dissemination of information concerning services, research and training in the various fields of psychiatry and mental health, and the advancement of scientific knowledge in these fields. Special Interest Groups provide a forum on key issues within psychiatry and mental health. They include experts and interested professionals in their respective areas. Their main objective is to encourage the WPA membership to work in areas that at a later stage may require the establishment of a Scientific Section1. The two previous Secretaries for Sections, A. Javed and T. Schulze, have done a tremendous work, which is partly reflected in many developments which have occurred during the past triennium3-13. Several information technology advances have been put in place to give the Sections a corporate identity and to allow them to work more efficiently. A system has been created whereby Sections can now update their website using a personalized link. The Sections are also provided with a web-based form to submit their triennial activity report to the Secretary for Sections, needed for their reinstatement2. The past triennium has seen the roll-out of the Education, Science, Publication and Research Initiative (ESPRI), a vehicle to jumpstart research projects in low- and middle-income countries, with the WPA providing seed funding to (preferably) early career investigators to carry out scientific projects of relevance to their respective country or region, and for which funding would be difficult to obtain otherwise6. The ESPRI was initially conceptualized by the Secretary for Sections, co-developed with the Secretaries for Publications and Education, and approved by the Executive Committee. To date, the WPA has funded six projects from around the globe, addressing a variety of issues: major depression in old age (Tanzania); psychological impact of Ebola and COVID-19 infections (Liberia); genomics of bipolar disorder (Nigeria); poverty alleviation for persons with mental health problems (Pakistan); transdiagnostic and transcultural web-based psychotherapeutic tools (Pakistan); training tools for the examination and documentation of the psychological sequelae of torture and war (UK, Austria and Syria). There has been a major uptick in WPA's direct research involvement, as the Association has been awarded principal investigator status in two large European Union Horizon research grants, with the Secretary for Sections taking the lead in the grant submission process, aided by the Section on Genetics in Psychiatry6. The WPA currently has principal investigator status in the PSY-PGx Consortium, focusing on the implementation of pharmacogenetics in psychiatry, aimed at the identification of biological and clinical markers predicting resistance to pharmacological treatment approaches. This research work will be jointly coordinated by the Executive Committee and will involve several Scientific Sections. The WPA will work closely with the Global Alliance of Mental Illness Advocacy Networks (GAMIAN) Europe, a not-for-profit patient-driven pan-European organization, hence further developing its mission of promoting "trialogue"6. Currently there are well-established and dynamic mechanisms underlying the work of WPA Scientific Sections. However, we have very active Sections that are doing more than international associations in their field, while there are other Sections which need to be revitalized to meet the basic requirements indicated in the WPA by-laws. We will have to create the conditions for the best functioning of each Section, and this will require a joint action by the Executive Committee, under the guidance of the WPA President, the Council, and the leaders and members of all the Sections. All the planned activities will have to be in line with the WPA Action Plan 2023-202614-16, approved by the General Assembly at the Vienna World Congress. Collaborations with international professional associations in the fields of psychiatry, neurology and public mental health, as well as partnerships with representatives of service users and organizations of family carers, will have to be continued and intensified. The WPA aims to contribute to the achievement of the third United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal ("Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages"), and the work of Scientific Sections will be crucial in this respect. This will require a cooperation with a variety of partners, also beyond the fields of public health, targeting areas such as climate action, labour, housing and education. Promotion of healthy lifestyles and suicide prevention at the population level, and enhancement of the mental and physical well-being among psychiatric patients and staff, are major priorities highlighted in the WPA Action Plan 2023-202614-16, and will be a main component of the activity of many WPA Scientific Sections. The collaboration among the various Scientific Sections, and between these Sections and Special Interest Groups, in research and training activities will be actively pursued during the next triennium, mostly but not only as part of WPA scientific meetings and educational products. In this rapidly changing world, those organizations will survive and benefit which will not only follow their traditional principles, but also create new flexible mechanisms to implement their mission, which in our case is to provide highly ranked services to patients, families and the entire community; to ensure the professional development of psychiatrists and other mental health workers; and to contribute to the promotion of mental and physical health at the population level. This will require a very hard collaborative work, to which all of us are prepared.