Jordan has taken a significant step forward in implementing its mental health strategy with H.E. the Minister of Health, Dr Firas Hawari reactivating the National Technical Committee for Mental Health. This follows the recent launch of the mental health investment case.
The report spearheaded by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Secretariat of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases provides key recommendations to enhance mental health services in Jordan, one of WHO’s Special Initiative for Mental Health countries.
The five recommendations are: 1) strengthening and enforcing existing mental health policies and laws, 2) developing robust surveillance systems to monitor the prevalence of mental health conditions, track patient outcomes, and assess funding allocations, 3) ensuring direct allocation of mental health budgets to primary healthcare centres, 4) investing in evidence-based, cost-effective mental health interventions at both clinical and population levels and, last but not least, 5) increasing public awareness to combat stigma.
The National Technical Committee for Mental Health will now coordinate implementation of the report’s recommendations. Comprising 16 prominent members, including representatives from the WHO, the committee will drive important reforms in mental health, including collaboration with the National Centre for Human Rights.
WHO and the Task Force have also reaffirmed their commitment to the Government of Jordan to support action to improve mental health outcomes in the country, with results expected in the coming months.
‘Minister of Health hosts Task Force investment case mission, Amman, May 2023’