Mexico's INSP unveils national mental health services atlas

Mexico's National Institute of Public Health (INSP) has launched the Atlas Integral de Salud Mental, a research platform that maps the location, type, staffing and population served by public mental‑health services. Funded by the Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation, the atlas uses the DESDE classification system and was first implemented in Mexico City, with plans to expand nationwide. The project involves collaboration with specialists from Spain’s University Loyola Andalucía and Australia’s University of Canberra.

In Argentina, the province of Tierra del Fuego launched a mental‑health program for first‑response teams operating in remote areas, presented by Health Minister Judit Di Giglio and authored by psychologist Mailén Reyes. Meanwhile, Mendoza province expanded its mental‑health assistance network for police, penitentiary staff and their families through a partnership with Centro Nativa Salud, offering services covered by the public employees’ health insurance and accessible via a dedicated WhatsApp line.

The municipality of Concepción del Uruguay conducted a training session for nurses on mental‑health law, crisis intervention and rights of patients, aiming to strengthen primary‑care response.

In Chile, researchers warned that growing waiting lists for mental‑health care could worsen if budget cuts occur, advocating task‑delegation models and digital tools to extend specialist capacity.

In Panama, a judge replaced a prison sentence for a domestic‑violence offender with supervised liberty, mandating specialized psychological treatment and social‑work monitoring as part of the conditions.