Hi Neil,
I would like to reflect on an experience in introducing the mental health act in Iraq/Kurdistan region. I was at the time a programme manager for an international organisation in Iraq (Heartland Alliance International- HAI).
We convened a coalition of local civil society organisations working on mental health, public health and human rights. We drafted the mental health act and introduced the bill to the parliament. It was subsequently passed into law.
This example was one of the few success stories of the role of civil society in policy making. One of the main facilitators for the successful introduction of the act was the active engagement of an international organisation (HAI). The latter provided financial support for bringing stakeholders together (workshops, meetings, printing materials, etc). But more importantly, it acted as a catalyst for bringing various (sometimes contradictory opinions) together. For example, I remember that one of the controversial issues in the act was the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the treatment of psychiatric patients.
The treatment was provided without anesthesia at the time, and it was not that easy to make it obligatory to provide such therapy under sedation/anesthesia without the intervention of HAI as an external mediator that was respected by most stakeholders and seen as neutral.
I have other, less positive, examples that I am willing to share when time allows.
Hope this helps.
Goran
HIFA Profile: Goran Zangana is a medical doctor and Associate Research Fellow with the Middle East Research Institute, Iraq. He is a HIFA country representative for Iraq and is currently based in the UK. He is the holder of Country Representative of the Year 2021.
https://www.hifa.org/support/members/goran
Email: goran.zangana AT meri-k.org
