WPA Secretariat's work during the COVID‐19 pandemic

The COVID‐19 pandemic has inexorably entered the life of the largest psychiatric organization in the world, the WPA, which unites under its wing more than 250,000 specialists from 121 countries and represents 145 national societies of psychiatrists ¹ .

The task that the WPA President and Executive Committee set for me – as the new WPA Secretary General – is to reorganize the work of the Secretariat, based on today's reality, to optimize it, to revise job responsibilities, and to highlight priorities. This includes restructuring the entire communication process; defining development prospects, strategy and coordination of our media resources; and introducing and using new digital technologies, including the operational management of our website (www.wpanet.org)2, 3.

The next priority task is to improve communication with the 18 Zonal Representatives. I already knew many of them from our previous joint work in the WPA, or from other joint projects. My six years of experience in the same position will also help me in this respect. Furthermore, an important and time‐consuming mission of the Secretariat is working with Member Societies ⁴ . Formally, there are 145 of them, but not all are active enough, not all of them pay dues on a regular basis, and with some we have just lost contact. That is why, together with Zonal Representatives, we are going to implement an “inventory” of the information base of the Member Societies. Close communication with them is one of the foundations of a well‐coordinated organization.

The next important task of the WPA Secretariat is the logistic support to the effective work of the Executive Committee ⁴ . This includes the preparation of materials for meetings; verification and approval of reports; and many other daily and routine activities. As the WPA Secretary General, I am also expected to ensure the effective work of the WPA Council, maintaining constant communication with its chairperson. The responsibilities of the Secretary General also include the leadership of the Accreditation Committee, which starts its active work during the pre‐election period.

An important component of my upcoming work will also be the assistance in the work of the WPA Standing Committees ⁵ on Planning, Publications, Education, Sections, Meetings, Ethics and Review, Finances and Fundraising. I hope that my previous three years of experience in the Committee on Planning will help me in this respect.

At present, all our efforts are focused on the implementation of the WPA Action Plan for 2020‐2023 ⁶ . The success of this implementation will largely depend on the well‐coordinated interaction of all components of the WPA structure, and its Secretariat is called to help in this.

The key features of the Action Plan are: to promote psychiatry as a medical specialty in clinical, academic and research areas, and to promote public mental health as a guiding principle; to highlight the specific role of psychiatrists in working with other professionals in health, public health, legal and social aspects of care; to ensure WPA's positive engagement with Member Societies and WPA components, mental health professionals and general health care workers.

The six areas of the WPA Action Plan 2020‐2023 include: public mental health; child, ado­lescent and youth mental health; addressing comorbidity in mental health; developing partnerships for collaborative work and strengthening partnerships with mental health and other organizations; ca­pacity building and training in global mental h­ealth and public mental health; continuation and completion of previous WPA Action Plans7, 8.

I plan to assist the President in searching for educational grants and funds, and in preparing and monitoring specific proposals for sponsors. I will also assist in finding sites for Regional and Thematic Congresses. I also plan to prepare a report on the importance of a constant collaboration with the mass media, with the aim of exploring the possibility to create a working group, or establish a Section, to develop a charter for relations with the press. The ultimate goal would be to sign such a charter with the International Press Association.

Promoting mental health and increasing the popularity of psychiatry as a medical specialty are among the objectives of the WPA Action Plan. I intend to submit working materials in this area to the Executive Committee. I am also planning regular appearances in the mass media with the aim to promote psychiatry as a medical specialty in clinical, academic and research areas and to promote public mental health as a guiding principle, as well as to disseminate information on WPA activities.

Concerning partnership with other professional mental health organizations, I am going to participate as an observer in the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) General Assembly and Executive Board, to cooperate with the World Medical Association, and – as a member of the Council of the European Psychiatric Association and one of the founders of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) – to cultivate relationships with these latter associations.

Using my experience in the WHO and the ECNP, I am also planning to contribute to the Action Plan goal of “Promoting evidence‐based psychopharmacotherapy”. I also expect to continue working in the WPA Expert Group on COVID‐19 and the care for people with mental illness.

I am confident that the WPA will successfully overcome the difficulties associated with this critical period and continue its effective work. The WPA Secretariat will make every effort to contribute to this, relying on the full support from all components of the Association.