Imbalance is witnessed in the Lebanese mental health sector, as the provision of most mental health services is limited to the private sector, which makes it difficult for the most vulnerable groups to access such services. The primary health care sector does not benefit from enough funding to develop and expand public mental health services and reach remote villages and towns. In an effort to address these challenges, MSF implemented the Mental Health Gap (MH Gap) Program in two clinics in Tripoli and Al-Abdeh - Akkar at the end of 2017.
The MH Gap Program was initiated by the World health Organization (WHO). It is adopted by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and aims to further enable the primary health care system to provide an integrated package for the treatment of mental, neurological and substance use disorders. To this end, support, training and supervision are offered to non-specialized health care providers in view of mainstreaming and facilitating access to these services for those in need.
To implement this program, MSF collaborated with the Ministry of Public Health and trained MSF general doctors on how to prescribe medication for some of the patients suffering from mental disorders where needed, under the supervision of an external psychiatrist and in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team.