To consolidate Taiwan's social safety net and facilitate a new version of the Mental Health Act effective by the end of 2024, the Executive Yuan has approved a NT$5.63 billion (US$176.3 million) plan to strengthen whole-of-society mental health resilience (2025-2030). The plan is designed to align Taiwan with the World Health Organization's concept of mental health as a universal human right, and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals of reducing inequalities and promoting good health and well-being. By combining the resources of ministries and agencies, and enhancing collaboration between the central and local governments, the plan tackles the issue from the perspectives of resource deployment, primary prevention, medical care and crisis management, to comprehensively improve the mental health of the public and realize the national policy vision of a Healthy Taiwan.
Six major strategies
■ Promote holistic mental health: Initiate age- and population-specific mental health promotion programs, deploy mental health resources with a diverse range of service channels, and raise public awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.
■ Develop a continuous mental care network: Upgrade the quality of mental health care services, establish a mechanism for handling mental health emergencies, strengthen care and community support for psychiatric patients, and promote the de-stigmatization of mental illness.
■ Increase capacity of diversified addiction treatments: Enhance public awareness of mental illnesses, expand subsidies for alcohol addiction treatment, develop intervention programs for internet addiction, and increase the capacity of treatment services.
■ Improve therapeutic treatment for perpetrators of domestic violence and sexual assault: Develop scientifically validated models for the treatment of perpetrators, conduct research into tools for assessing the level of risk, strengthen community monitoring mechanisms, and improve the professional knowledge and capabilities of therapists.
■ Enhance the judicial system for psychiatric criminal treatment: Expand the manpower of judicial psychiatric evaluation teams and deploy associated medical resources, and assist individuals' reintegration into society.
■ Strengthen technological and digital mental health infrastructure: Establish a mechanism for conducting mental health surveys, integrate mental health data, and enhance the effectiveness of mental health care through the use of digital technology.