Culture and mental health in Egypt

What is it about?

This chapter aims to analyze the new Egyptian mental health law from a rights perspective in order to measure its compatibility with established human rights principles and the international standards that guide the practice of mental health care. At the same time, the study considers the status of psychiatric care and basic mental health services for people with mental disorders in Egypt after several recent national upheavals along with the national prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the country. It will address the needs and the challenges facing current practice, with a discussion of some suggestions for improvements. Relevant databases were searched (Medline, PubMed, and Cochrane library of systemic reviews and clinical trials) with the following Mesh terms: “mental disorders,” “substance-related disorders,” “Egyptian Mental Health systems,” and “Egyptian Mental health laws.” Articles published since 2000 were prioritized. In the latest years, a considerable gap between mental healthcare needs and available services in Egypt has been documented. There is comprehensive mental health legislation to enforce the rights of persons with mental disorders, but there is a lack of firm policy for the implementation of interventions. The transformation of hospital-based to community-based mental health and the building of accessible services are necessary. Egypt urgently needs a national assessment of the deficiencies of its mental health system. The assessment would provide evidence and reliable information on existing needs and the barriers to accessing mental health care. The outputs of such an assessment will be helpful in finding locally and culturally sensitive solutions to reduce the mental health gap and can then be used in lobbying public opinion to rectify these conditions.

Featured Image