Chain-free initiative

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Chain-free initiative phases

In its pursuit of realizing the dignity and rights of people with mental illness on the ground, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has launched the pilot chain-free initiative in Afghanistan and Somalia with the overall objective of contributing to the quality of mental health services. This involves combating existing stigma associated with mental illness and providing people with mental illness with equal opportunities to access basic humanitarian treatment in hospitals, homes and the environments in which they live.

The chain-free initiative comprises three phases:

1- Phase one or chain-free hospitals: which involves removing chains, reforming hospitals into patient- friendly and humane places with minimum restraints.

2- Phase two or chain-free homes: which involves removing the chains, providing family psycho-education, training family members on a realistic, recovery-oriented approach, and providing home visits.

3- Phase three or chain-free environment: which involves removing the invisible chains of stigma and restrictions on the human rights of people with mental illness, the right to universal access to all opportunities with and for persons with mental illness.

Special attention has been given to raising the awareness of hospital staff on human rights issues and on more humane and scientific methods of restraining. The initiative also emphasizes the development of users’ and family associations, and the establishment of chain-free committees to work for the rights of users and to lobby for providing basic humanitarian assistance to people with mental illness.