“Enhancing Implementation of Mental Health Reforms in Armenia”
November 23-24, 2013
Yerevan, Armenia
The Open Society Foundations–Armenia, in cooperation with the East East Beyond Borders program of the Open Society Foundations, organized an International Conference on Mental Health in Yerevan, Armenia, from November 23-24, 2013 to discuss the recent developments in the mental health field, both in Armenia and worldwide.
The Conference was to highlight needs in the mental health field and provide support to policy makers, decision makers and mental health professionals in developing effective educational programs, as well as legal and funding mechanisms for integrating mental health community services nationwide.
Experts and professionals from Eastern European and former soviet countries were invited to discuss current developments in the mental health field, create a platform for exchanging experience among local and international partners, and enhancing the network of supporters.
Numerous studies conducted by civil society has demonstrated systematic problems related to the right to full implementation and protection of a person’s rights, specifically the right to an independent life, to make decisions, and fully participate in public life.
In Armenia, in spite of the efforts undertaken since 2001, community-based services for people with mental health problems are still scarce and rely purely on donor funding, moreover, the health care resources are quite limited in Armenia. The existing mental health care practice in Armenia is not in compliance with human rights and fundamental freedoms, and humane treatment standards: people with mental health problems are often subject to forced psychiatric interventions on the basis of disability with no access to community-based services. Another issue is the lack of trained specialists and legal mechanisms that leads to regular violation of patient’s rights.
On September 22nd, 2010, Armenia approved the UN Convention “On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, committing to a number of responsibilities to ensure and protect the rights of persons with mental health problems, to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability. This was a great step forward and provided an opportunity to push for further reforms.
In 2012, in cooperation with the RA Ministry of Health, Open Society Foundations – Armenia, and the mental health initiative, a mental health working group has been established to push for a reform in the field and to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of development efforts. The government succeeded in adopting the Mental Health Concept and for Armenia and developed a national strategic plan for mental health in order to integrate mental health into the general healthcare system.
The adoption of the Mental Health Strategy for Armenia will be followed by the development and finalizing of implementation mechanisms. In order to equip the working group members with best practices and tools, and also raise once again the importance of the reform of the field for the decision makers, the OSF-Armenia organized and international conference and invited specialists from eastern European and former soviet countries. As a result, nine international experts from the Czech Republic, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia and Hungary and around 70 local experts from universities, hospitals and the government gathered to discuss recent developments in mental health field both in Armenia and worldwide.
During a two day conference, the participants had an opportunity to share their experience in existing practices in deinstitutionalization and community care development, as well as discuss best practices in human resource building for mental health field. A separate focus was put on discussing the human rights dimension of the Mental Health field and approaches throughout European countries.
The second day of the conference was mostly devoted to four simultaneous working group sessions covering four major fields: deinstitutionalization in line with the Article 19 of the UN Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD); the principles of community living and community based services; running community based services in middle and low income countries and preparing the residents, the staff and the local community.
Each working group consisted of about 15-20 local and international participants who developed recommendations for each field. At the end of the conference day, each group presented a set of recommendations, which will be further used and promoted by local mental health working group members.
The conference emphasized the need in substantial mental health area reform in Armenia and a strong commitment of civil society, health professionals and most importantly by the government who needs to undertake specific actions to ensure implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD). Apart from approval of the national strategy, the government shall ensure state funding for community –based services and specialized trainings for professionals working in the field. Civil society in its turn will closely monitor the reform process and ensure the government fulfills its commitments and obligations and undertakes specific actions to protect patient’s rights in the country.
The Declaration is open for signatures. To sign on, please contact Anahit Papikyan.
Please join us to bring a change to the lives of people who need our support.
OSFA Team