In May 2014, the Ministry of Public Health launched the National Mental Health Programme with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the International Medical Corps (IMC), aiming to reform mental health care in Lebanon and offer services beyond medical treatment at the community level, in accordance with human rights and the latest evidence on best practices. In 2015, the NMHP introduced the Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention, Promotion, and Treatment Strategy for Lebanon for the period 2015-2020. The first National Strategy for Mental Health in Lebanon was launched following a participatory process involving all stakeholders, aligned with the WHO Global Action Plan for Mental Health, to develop a sustainable and responsive mental health system that addresses the needs and rights of all people in Lebanon. The strategy was revised and updated for the period 2024-2030 to strengthen leadership and governance, enhance equitable access to quality community-based mental health care, and promote the uptake of evidence-based, preventive, and promotive mental health interventions. Additionally, the strategy aims to prioritize research and the systematic collection of data to monitor key mental health indicators, thereby informing evidence-based policies and planning.
All people living in Lebanon will have the opportunity to enjoy the best possible mental health and wellbeing.
To ensure the development of a sustainable mental health system that guarantees the provision of and universal accessibility to high-quality, safe, integrated, people-centered mental health preventive and curative services, with an emphasis on recovery, human rights and alignment with scientific evidence.
The National Mental Health Programme Timeline outlines how the NMHP has been reforming the mental health system amidst multiple compounded crises. It covers the years from 2013 to 2024 and lays out both the major milestones (in blue) and the emergencies it responded to (in red) while shedding light on how this is being done. Our objective is to support recovery while continuing to build a more resilient and multi-leveled system able to respond to any future crisis.
A detailed overview of the achievements is available in the National MH Strategy 2024-2030 situation analysis. The full PDF document with clickable links can be accessed here.
Any intervention should be delivered with the understanding that every person has the right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to self-determination. Services should be equally accessible and cater to the varied needs of individuals based on their health status, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, legal status, geographic location, language, culture, and other personal attributes.
Effective participation of stakeholders, including persons with lived experience, in the governance of the mental health system and in the design, planning and implementation of system-strengthening interventions should be sought. Mental health services should be planned and provided in partnership with the service users. People have the right to be in control of their recovery journeys, and they should be supported in taking personal responsibility for their own recovery journey to ensure that their unique goals, strengths, and needs are identified and acted upon.
Quality is to be prioritized for all system-strengthening interventions and across all levels of the mental health system, through building on evidence and best practices to ensure effectiveness, safety, people-centeredness, timeliness, equity, integration, and efficiency.
Accountability to the public, individuals with a mental health condition, and all institutional stakeholders impacted by the system’s decisions and actions should be promoted in line with international human rights conventions. Maintaining transparency, enhancing the provision of respectful, high-quality interventions, and upholding the rights of service users and their families are key pillars of these values.
This initiative is fully aligned with the National Mental Health Strategy 2024–2030, which outlines Lebanon’s roadmap towards a comprehensive, community-based, and rights-oriented mental health system. It reflects the strategy’s vision to promote mental health and wellbeing across all settings, including the workplace.
We invite you to explore the whole strategy to learn more about the national priorities and how collective efforts are shaping the future of mental health in Lebanon.
