Table 5 Recommendations to policy-makers for future policy formulation process and what was implemented

 • National committees/working groups responsible for policy formulation should be officially/formally formulated by a ministerial decree or by a similar mechanism

 • A national committee was formed by a ministerial decree to work on the development of the national strategy on substance use and abuse

 • Mandate for work, including roles and responsibilities and timeframe, needs to be set and documented

 • The decree set a timeline for the committees’ work and specified the general role of the committee

 • The inclusion of the public (patients and beneficiaries) and parliamentary members, if possible, is recommended

 • The committee included patient groups

 • Involve media in the policy formulation process to sensitise them regarding issues related to the policy concerned; training the media on tackling health issues is recommended

 • A media tool kit was developed to sensitise the media on mental health as well as on addiction issues; training on the kit is planned

 • Document meeting minutes and share them with all stakeholders

 • Meeting minutes are being documented and shared by email for feedback and approval

 • Need to form a participatory body to oversee the implementation of the strategy; ensuring participation throughout the policy-making cycle is crucial for good governance

 • The draft strategy on drugs and addiction was published on the Ministry of Health (MoH) website for 2 weeks for public feedback

 • Operational plans/implementation plans should be published and shared with all

 • The Mental Health Programme started signing memoranda of understanding with relevant stakeholders for implementation of the Mental Health Strategy (MHS)

 • The public (including scientific entities, academia, media and the lay public) need to be informed regarding draft policies/strategies and should be given the chance to forward feedback and comments

 • An independent body was recruited to conduct a mid-term evaluation of the implementation of the MHS

 • All participants should sign memoranda of understanding and conflict of interest declarations before being engaged in policy formulation

 • A hotline was activated for all kinds of complaints to the MoH, including issues related to MHS, but results of the complains are not published

 • The MoH/national programme should set formal accountability mechanisms to hold various stakeholders accountable during the formulation and implementation phases

 • Independent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) results were shared in a big meeting with all stakeholders that were involved in the formulation and implementation of the MHS and they appreciated the transparency and the efforts to include all; the level of trust was increased; results not published yet

 • The MoH/national programme should work on setting standards and sanctions as well as incentives

 • Set a collaboration mechanism to set a priority list for research with academic institutions in the country

 • The MoH/national programme should set in place a complaints system and publish the results of complaints investigations

 • A mental health registry was established to register cases as well as map services provided by all stakeholders

 • The MoH/national programme should disseminate progress reports as well as M&E reports and other relevant documents to all stakeholders and publish these on their websites

 • A benefit package was set at the primary healthcare centres

 • The MoH/national programme should develop and publish financial reports on the sources of funding as well as how funds were allocated and spent; financial information should be taken into account when formulating a policy

 • Collaboration to conduct local research on relevant issues and funding, if possible

 • Needs assessment targeting the public should be conducted both before the formulation of health policies and after implementation to assess responsiveness of the policy to public needs as well as to the services provided as a part of the policy

 • There is a need to have a specialised unit/staff for research analysis and for policy-making

 • A national mental health registry is needed

 • A benefit package should be clearly stated within a policy/strategy with a timeframe to provide services as well as setting a referral system, so the patients/service users know what to expect