Public Health Minister, Dr. Firass Abiad,received today a delegation from the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, which included Hamida Al-Dereidi and Maria Gujanovic, and the representative of the United Nations Office in Geneva Anders Malver.
The delegation’s visit comes within the framework of a tour among officials to have a closer look at the human rights situation, especially in hospitals, mental health centers and prisons. The visit is the second in its nature following the Subcommittee’s first visit in 2010.
During the meeting, Abiad affirmed his “Ministry’s commitment to continue working to improve mental health and its services in Lebanon,” stressing that the Health Ministry “attaches great importance to this matter and seeks, on one hand, to secure as much financial support as possible to help hospitals and centers to continue under difficult circumstances, and on the other hand, pursues its monitoring role to ensure that patients get the proper care and attention needed.”
He emphasized, “the necessity of approving more programs in cooperation with UN and international organizations and donors to help this sector withstand,” particularly since most of it does not fall within the profitable commercial sector.
The meeting, which was also attended by the Director of the National Program for Mental Health, Rabih Chammai, and Minister Abiad’s Office Director Omar Al-Kaush, touched on the efforts of the National Program in cooperation with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and relevant partners, with the aim of promoting human rights in the country.
Talks centered on ways to develop mental health services within the community, including primary health care and building the capacity of health and social professionals in the field of mental health.
Discussions also tackled field work related to mental health treatment in prisons, which constitutes a major challenge given the difficult situation inside jails, with emphasis on the repercussions of the financial crisis in Lebanon and the inability to allocate a ministerial budget for mental health.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon