Government announces it will create Institute of Neuroscience in Mental Health

Santo Domingo.- The Government announced this Monday the creation of the National Institute of Neuroscience in Mental Health which will have clinical areas, research and documentation spaces on disorders such as bipolarity, mood disorders, schizophrenia and others related to mental health.

President Luis Abinader, along with Vice President Raquel Peña, led an event to present the progress made by the Dominican State in mental health at the national level, focusing efforts on preventive actions, strengthening primary care, community participation, and social integration.

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In that sense, the authorities highlighted that during this 2026 the mental health services line 811 will be expanded, which will replace the traditional number 809-200-1400, which provides free and permanent care, making it more accessible to the population and increasing the number of beds for patient care from 137 to 500, the President’s Press Office specified. In addition, drug detoxification units will be enabled. With this, the Government seeks to ensure that people suffering from some mental health disorder can have more years of life, that deaths from trauma decrease, that primary care is increased and improved, as well as the dispensing of medications. The plan was announced this Monday by the Minister of Public Health, Víctor Atallah, and the director of the National Health Service, Julio Landrón, who emphasized that this government administration is the one that has allocated the most resources to address mental health.

“Work will be done intensely and we are going to show great achievements”, Atallah pointed out, stating that the catalog of medications was expanded and the coverage provided by insurance for their acquisition will be increased.

The seven programs that make up this plan seek to bring mental health closer, provide emotional support, guide the young population, provide care, provide continuity of treatment, improve emotional health and accompany the community. “Mental disorders have increased more than ever, more than a billion people worldwide (12% of the world’s population) have suffered, or suffer from, some mental disorder,” the minister added. Also, he said that 37 new protocols were worked on with an emphasis on primary care and national coverage and reported that the National Mental Health Assistance Contact Center extended its working hours until 12 midnight, receiving, to date, more than 16,000 calls, and has protocols to refer to clinics and specialized care. After conducting consultations with international organizations and experts on the subject to strengthen the legal framework, in August 2025, the proposal to amend Law 12-06, on mental health, was submitted to the Senate of the Republic, focusing on prevention, community action, and better primary care and social integration. The bill has not been approved in the National Congress, so it will have to be debated again from the opening of the next legislature, on February 27th.