The WHO South-East Asia Region’s Member States made a commitment in 2022 to promote and facilitate access to community-based mental health services. This was achieved through the adoption of the Paro Declaration on universal access to people-centred mental health care and services. Following this declaration, the Mental health action plan for the WHO South-East Asia Region 2023–2030 was introduced. The action plan has four main objectives, with Objective 2 focusing on providing comprehensive, integrated, and responsive mental health and social care services in community-based settings.

Under Objective 2, there is an extensive menu of options provided to expand and strengthen community-based mental health services in WHO South-East Asia Region Member States. These options include building more community-based mental health centres that provide care and support options for people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities in the community. Other options include increasing the number of supported living facilities, including both long and short-stay options.

The action plan also includes indicators to track the progress of the expansion of community-based mental health services. These indicators include the proportion of general hospitals with mental health units, as well as the number of community-based mental health centres that provide care and support options for people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities in the community. Other indicators include the proportion of children with access to child-friendly mental health services in schools or other community settings.

Overall, this action plan aims to improve access to quality mental healthcare for all individuals within WHO South-East Asia Region Member States by providing comprehensive, integrated, and responsive mental health and social care services in community-based settings.