Pulitzer Center Update

This Week: Caring for Mental Health in India, the Sunni-Shi'a Divide, Peace in Afghanistan

February 07, 2017 | Newsletter
By
Tom Hundley
In the Indian states of Goa and Madhya Pradesh, house calls by local counselors have helped thousands of people deal with mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. Image by Joanne Silberner. India, 2016.

In the Indian states of Goa and Madhya Pradesh, house calls by local counselors have helped thousands of people deal with mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. Image by Joanne Silberner. India, 2016.

Mental Health in Poor Countries
Joanne Silberner

In developing countries struggling against malaria, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition and other preventable public health crises, one area of concern that is routinely overlooked by governments and aid agencies is mental health. But as grantee Joanne Silberner reports in her series for NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, mental illnesses affect people in all parts of the world. Depression and schizophrenia hit as hard in poor countries as in rich. From India, Joanne looks into some innovative programs that have increased awareness of the problem and provided greater access to care at a relatively low cost.

Talking About Peace in Afghanistan
May Jeong

In this podcast, grantee May Jeong discusses her feature story in the February issue of Harper’s about the long and winding road to a peace agreement in Afghanistan.

Bridging the Great Divide
Geneive Abdo

Islam’s historic Sunni-Shi'a divide has grown deeper, and as author and grantee Geneive Abdo explains, the reasons have more to do with politics than faith.