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The European Union and the World Health Organisation have joined forces with the Palestinian Ministry of Health to help improve the lives of people suffering from mental health disorders. Working closely together, the three parties have set out an ambitious work programme to help transform the provision of mental health services in the occupied Palestinian territory and bring relief to a fragile and often stigmatised segment of the population.
The project, which was launched at the Community Mental Health Centre in Ramallah today, will make substantial changes in key aspects of mental health service delivery. "Our goal is an ambitious one", said Mr. Tony Lawrence, the acting head of the World Health Organisation in the West Bank and Gaza: "it is to assist you in further developing the services which are provided to patients suffering from mental illnesses in Palestine – and ultimately in their transformation." Mr Kjaer, the European Commission Representative in Jerusalem, added "many people living with mental health issues have suffered both from a lack of adequate services and from the stigma that surrounds mental health. This project will help address both those problems."
Dr. Fathi Abu Moghli the Palestinian Minister of Health, after thanking the EU and WHO for their continuous support to the Palestinian health sector, added that the continuation of the Israeli military operations and an increased decline in the socioeconomic environment resulting from closures and curfews had had a complex impact on the mental health of the Palestinian population, in particular children. "We hope that the proper implementation of the project will help in strengthening mental health services in the occupied Palestinian territory so as to ensure we are able to meet the increased needs of the population," he said.
The project builds on ongoing cooperation between the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation, which began in 2002, and which led to the establishment of a National Policy and Strategic Operational Plan for reforming the mental health sector in 2004. This policy has three clear aims. First, to change the thinking on mental health, by integrating mentally ill people into society and removing some of the stigma that is associated with mental health. Secondly, by changing the practice, enhancing both the range of treatments available and providing community based care for sufferers and their families. And finally, by changing the system, ensuring that the mental health care system is set up in such a way as to provide the best available care to people with mental health problems. The project, for which the EU has now provided an additional 3.4 million Euros through its PEGASE mechanism, will help the Palestinian
Ministry of Health to turn those policy goals into concrete actions. In particular the project will focus on five core areas:
- Building the capacity of the Ministry of Health, through the creation of a Mental Health Unit in the new management structure of the Ministry of Health.
- Improving training and education for mental health professionals
- Supporting the establishment of family and user associations through the West Bank and Gaza, to provide support to families and help address the lack of understanding at community levels
- Developing a national public education campaign to raise awareness among the broader community and address some of the myths that surround mental health
- Designing a mental health information system to build on the existing one, and establishing mental health legislation to protect the rights of people with mental health problems.
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