Deinstitutionalization of people with mental health conditions in the WHO South-East Asia Region

Overview

Deinstitutionalization of mental health care is the process of shifting mental health care and support from long-stay psychiatric institutions to community mental health services. For centuries, psychiatric hospitals have been the primary model for delivering mental health services. Human rights violations and poor treatment have been extensively documented in such institutions. Over the past few decades, deinstitutionalization has gained global attention, with the growing push towards community-based mental health care. The “Trieste Model” in Italy has been an exemplar, paving the way for the adoption of deinstitutionalization practices across different contexts and settings.

 The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the United Nations in 2006, recognizes, among other rights, that of people with psychosocial disabilities to live independently in their communities.

 The adoption of the Paro Declaration by the Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region in 2022 was a major development in the Region. The Paro Declaration commits Member States to achieving universal access to people-centred mental health care and services, and to systematically planning for deinstitutionalization through a series of actions that include strengthening the capacity of primary care services to deliver mental health support, and developing community mental health networks. The declaration was followed by the Mental health action plan for the WHO South-East Asia Region 2023–2030, which aims to provide comprehensive, integrated and responsive mental health and social care services in community-based settings.