A Turning Point for Mental Health: WHO South-East Asia Region’s Pledge to Expand Community-Based Services”.

In 2023, the Member States of WHO South-East Asia Region made a commitment to promoting and facilitating access to community-based mental health services. This was achieved through the adoption of the Paro Declaration on universal access to people-centred mental health care and services. The declaration aimed to promote comprehensive, integrated, and responsive mental health and social care services in community-based settings.

Following this declaration, the Mental health action plan for the WHO South-East Asia Region 2023–2030 was introduced. The action plan has four main objectives, with Objective 2 focusing on expanding and strengthening community-based mental health services in WHO South-East Asia Region Member States.

Under Objective 2, an extensive menu of options is provided to expand and strengthen community-based mental health services in WHO South-East Asia Region Member States. These options include day care centres, rehabilitation centres, long and short-stay supported living facilities, general hospitals with mental health units, among others. The action plan also includes indicators to track the progress of the expansion of community-based mental health services. For example, one indicator is the number of community-based mental health centres that provide care and support options for people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities in the community.

The Mental Health Action Plan for the WHO South East Asia Region 2023 – 2030 aims to improve access to quality mental health services for all members of society by enhancing existing resources and increasing investments in this area. The plan recognizes that effective delivery of mental healthcare requires collaboration between various stakeholders including government agencies, civil society organizations, NGOs, academic institutions, private sector entities and communities themselves.

Overall, this commitment by Member States towards promoting community based mental healthcare is a step towards ensuring that everyone can receive timely help when they need it most.