Cyprus to Announce a National Mental Health Strategy

The government of the Republic of Cyprus plans to publish a national mental health strategy next year. This announcement was made by the Minister of Health, Popi Kanari, last week during her visit to the Atalassa Psychiatric Hospital.

According to the minister, a committee involving all relevant stakeholders has already been established for the development of the strategy. Creating this strategy will help support a sector that has historically been "somewhat forgotten."

Popi Kanari also noted that the development of the strategy will be supported by the World Health Organization (WHO).

To achieve this goal, WHO experts visited the island last week. They came with the purpose of "seeing what is in Cyprus, what it lacks, to shape the strategy in the best possible way according to the country's situation."

Additionally, Greece has offered its services to Cyprus in this regard, as they have already implemented their own national mental health strategy.

"This is also a matter that concerns many other European Union countries, and Commissioner Stella Kyriakides recommended that all member states begin creating such a strategy," added Popi Kanari.

As part of the project, the state healthcare services (Okypy) are already modernizing the Atalassa Hospital, and it is expected that the first modernized department will be operational by March. This will significantly improve the level of patient care.

The second stage of modernization will be completed by 2026. Other planned works are also in the development stage.