The World Health Organisation’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Mental Health and Substance Use Coalition 

About the Regional Coalition

Our community-driven interactive platform – the first of its kind in the Region – aims to help civil society organizations connect, exchange knowledge on evidence-based initiatives and programmes implemented at country and regional levels and participate in events organized by WHO and other countries. The objectives of the Regional Mental Health and Substance Use Coalition are to connect, share knowledge and engage. Your involvement in the Coalition will support WHO’s work in mental health and substance use through:

• Strengthening and scaling up of inclusive community-oriented mental health services through the integration of mental health and substance use in the universal health coverage basic package of services delivered through primary health care centres;

• Developing and implementing programmes, tools and interventions to combat the stigma and minimize discrimination faced by people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders and promote equal access to health services, employment and education;

• Advocating for enhanced political commitment and visibility for mental health and substance use to be integrated into all national health and social development policies;

• Securing the financial resources to scale up community-based, and integrated mental health and substance use services;

• Advocating for inclusion of mental health and psychosocial support in emergency preparedness, response and recovery policies, strategies and plans of countries and sister agencies;

• Enhancing the capacity of humanitarian workers to provide mental health and psychosocial support in crisis and emergencies; Developing and framing a priority public mental health and substance use research agenda for the Region;

• Strengthening the capacity of mental health and substance use operational research in the Region.

Coalition Membership

WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region comprises 21 Member States and the occupied Palestinian territory (including East Jerusalem), with a population of nearly 679 million people

Civil Society Organisations and individual members of this Regional Coalition are working on a variety of disorders, across various workstreams listed below: