Libya has two main psychiatric public hospitals with in-patient services, located in Tripoli and Benghazi. The country has no mental health policy (WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean [WHO EMRO], 2015) or updated mental health legislation. Besides, WHO is working to fill urgent gaps in the most affected areas. In 2019, it supported the deployment of two psychiatrists (one to east and one to west Libya). Throughout 2019, they saw an average of 110 patients per week. WHO also trained 65 PHC doctors on treating patients with common mental health disorders. In 2020, subject to the availability of funds, WHO plans to launch an ambitious project to scale up mental health services in Libya.
Moreover, many mental health workers and members of voluntary organisations agreed that it is time to make a change and establish a much more suitable, culturally sensitive, accountable, and responsive mental health service in Libya (El-Badri, 2013). Modern facilities with adequate staffing and resources are required to facilitate the shift towards patient-oriented community-based services. The drive to create this collaborative approach is consistent with Libyan cultural and Islamic values which consider the mentally ill to be vulnerable and deserving of humane treatment and protection.