Thirteen medical and paramedical professionals took part in the training, which was provided in health centers in Zahlé and Rachaya. These three days of training constituted the first step in the support provided by the Mérieux Foundation, based on the mhGAP Intervention Guide, a tool developed by the WHO to help implement its Action Programme to close mental health gaps in non-specialist care settings, particularly in low-income countries.
The aim of the course was to strengthen the capacity of health professionals in primary health centers to identify, assess, and document priority mental disorders. More specifically, the training aimed to provide a better understanding of the architecture of the mhGAP Intervention Guide, dig deeper into the first section of the guide on “Essential Care & Practice”, apply clinical assessment algorithms to seven priority cases, initiate a mechanism for collecting clinical data within the center, and clarify the criteria for referral to specialist services.
The course ended with a certificate presentation ceremony in Zahlé, attended by Dorothée Lintner, Executive Director of the Mérieux Foundation. Her presence was a highlight for the participants, who had the opportunity to speak to her directly about their experience, their expectations, and the challenges they faced in their health centers. Ms. Lintner personally presented the certificates of attendance, highlighting the strategic importance of this first cycle of training and the value of the role played by medical and paramedical teams in improving access to mental health care in primary care.
Strengthening equitable, integrated access to health services, and particularly mental health services, in Lebanon.
This first phase of training represents a significant step forward in the gradual integration of mental health into primary care centers. The training addresses an institutional need identified in the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health’s national mental health strategy, which emphasizes the decentralization of care services and the strengthening of frontline organizations.
The next step will be to support the teams that have received the training in consolidating their knowledge and applying the tools they have acquired in practice, before addressing clinical management and case follow-up.
This project is part of the Mérieux Foundation’s long-standing commitment to strengthening access to healthcare for the most vulnerable and isolated communities in Lebanon by establishing and supporting primary health centers.
