Dr Benedetto Saraceno

Dr Benedetto Saraceno is the Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva - and, as such, can be said to be responsible for the world's mental health. Leading up to this elevated position is a career of considerable eminence, of which I can only offer a brief outline now. Benedetto Saraceno graduated as a doctor from the University of Milan and moved swiftly into psychiatric practice, obtaining his post-doctoral degree in psychiatry from the University of Parma. He progressed from strength to strength and soon became Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, with a distinguished academic record. But his interest in a broader landscape for his talents was manifest by his gaining a qualification in public health and epidemiology. This led him towards the international stage and during the 1990s he contributed to a number of WHO projects in South and Latin American countries. This in turn led on to his appointment as the Head of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health at the Mario Negri Institute.

Later, in 1996, he moved to Geneva as Programme Manager in the Division of Mental Health and Prevention of Substance Abuse. Yet again, he made his mark and, with the reorganisation of the WHO, he was appointed Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence - a post in which he has continued to demonstrate his industry and leadership. For example, he convinced the WHO to designate 2001 as the World Health Organization Mental Health Year and to dedicate the World Health Report of 2001 to mental health. This is the first time that mental health has been accorded such a prominent position in the WHO Programme of Action and, for those of us who work in and are dedicated to services that are often perceived as ‘Cinderella services’, such recognition is very important. It also illustrates the underlying theme of Benedetto Saraceno's professional life, which has been dedicated to the need of giving voice to the underserved, the excluded and the poor. This topic was a major preoccupation for him as a young psychiatrist working in Italy, when he led the Italian psychiatric reform; it was broadened during his service in Latin America, and was the key issue of his WHO programme ‘Nations for Mental Health’. The same topic is the main axis of the new WHO mental health Global Action Programme.

Dr Saraceno is also committed to the international role of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, with the firm belief that the College has a unique position in training, education and advocacy. His initiative led to a memorandum of understanding between the College and the WHO for research training fellowships and, with his persuasive encouragement, the WHO is firmly committed to closer collaboration with the College.

In summary, Dr Saraceno, with his distinguished academic and clinical background, is a psychiatrist of significant stature. He can be singled out as an individual who has made, and continues to make, a major contribution to global mental health, by his sustained and vigorous efforts for the advancement of psychiatry and mental health around the world, and particularly for those who are least able to speak for themselves. As such, he is eminently worthy of the highest honour that the College can bestow - an Honorary Fellowship. For us, the presence among us, of a person of such high international esteem, emphasises the importance of mental health as a global issue. It is therefore a great pleasure for me to present Dr Benedetto Saraceno to you as an Honorary Fellow of this College.

The Vote of Thanks on behalf of the Honorary Fellows for 2003 was given by Mr John Bowis, OBE, MEP.