By the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health Policy Team

In recent years, mental health has emerged as a global public health priority and a matter of fundamental human rights. Many countries are recognizing the need to adopt or reform their mental health-related legislation. However, existing laws often fall short in addressing discrimination and human rights violations, particularly within mental health care settings. In response to this pressing issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have collaborated to develop a comprehensive publication titled “Mental Health, Human Rights, and Legislation: Guidance and Practice.”

This report has the potential to reshape mental health public policy on a global scale. It introduces new objectives for mental health legislation, with a primary focus on adopting a rights-based approach, promoting the deinstitutionalization of people in long-term psychiatric facilities, and ensuring access to high-quality, person-centered community mental health services.

The guidance aims to ensure that every individual, irrespective of their mental health condition, receives equal and respectful mental health care. Furthermore, the guidance promotes a rights-based approach in mental health systems. This approach shifts the focus from merely treating the symptoms of mental health conditions to empowering individuals to actively participate in treatment decisions and lead lives of dignity and independence.

Another pivotal aspect of the guidance is the advocacy for the deinstitutionalization of patients in long-term psychiatric care institutions and the promotion of community-based mental health services. This guidance supports the move towards community-based services, offering individuals the opportunity to receive treatment in a more integrated and community-centered environment.

Finally, the guidance offers a framework for adopting practices that respect people's rights and dignity and ensure that individuals receive care based on their informed consent.

Addressing Maternal Mental Health (MMH) is the shared responsibility of federal and state policymakers, healthcare providers, hospitals, insurers, and communities.

We urge U.S. policymakers to review our policy roadmap released this year for policy recommendations to take steps to prevent MMH disorders and close gaps in care.