Mental health and substance use | WHO strategies and interventions

WHO strategies and interventions

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Promote, protect and restore the health and well-being of people living with mental health and substance use disorders

We support governments in the goal of promoting mental well-being, preventing mental disorders, providing care, enhancing recovery, promoting human rights and reducing the death, disease and disability for individuals with mental disorders. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, our work is guided by the 2 regional frameworks for action on mental health and substance use. These frameworks identify evidence-based and cost-effective interventions for scaling up care, as well as action on the promotion of mental health and prevention, management and treatment of mental, neurological and substance use disorders. The frameworks capture global commitments made by countries to reduce the premature death and disability caused by these conditions.

The 2 frameworks provide countries with high-impact, evidence-based, cost-effective and affordable interventions, which can be implemented by all countries, irrespective of income. We are working with governments and other partners to support the implementation of these frameworks, which will have a high impact on improving the health of people across the Region, and will play a major part in assisting countries to meet their commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

2030: Promote mental health and well-being, strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance use, including narcotic drug use and harmful use of alcohol

Regional framework to scale up action on mental health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

In October 2015, the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean endorsed a regional framework to support countries scale up action on mental health in the Region. This document is a road map for countries to implement the “Mental health action plan for 2013–2030”. The regional framework provides strategic interventions and indicators for countries to assess their progress in the four domains of:

Governance

Health care

Promotion and prevention

Surveillance, monitoring and research

Regional framework to scale up action on mental health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region | Arabic | French

Mental health action plan 2013–2030

Regional framework for action to strengthen the public health response to substance use

In October 2019, the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean endorsed a regional framework to support countries in strengthening their public health response to substance use. This document is a road map for countries to implement the outcome document of the special session of the United Nation General Assembly on the world drug problem, convened in 2016. The regional framework provides strategic interventions and indicators for countries to assess their progress in the five domains of:

Governance

Health sector response

Promotion and prevention

Monitoring and surveillance

International cooperation

Regional framework for action to strengthen the public health response to substance use | Arabic | French

Special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the world drug problem

World drug report