Mar. 31 – In May 1978, the Italian Parliament approved Law 180, better known as Basaglia Law, from Franco Basaglia, MD, who shut down the asylums for the insane in Italy. And today Basaglia’s works, emblematic of Italy’s psychiatry, psychology, pedagogy and anthropology culture in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, resonate in Ecuador. Indeed, the South American country is preparing a mental health reform inspired by the Italian model. The European Commission’s Eurosocial program is supporting the Ministerio de Inclusión Económica y Social (Mies) in the formulation of a national policy for social inclusion of people with mental health issues, based on the Trieste Department of Mental Health experience. The project is run by the International Committee for the Development of Peoples (CISP) in the context of Eurosocial social policies, coordinated by the IILA, the Italian- Latin American Institute. Ecuador, in essence, requested Eurosocial’s support to implement a pilot project that will follow the Trieste model for mental health services and socio-economic inclusion. The Trieste experience constructs a system of mental health services and practices in the territory to promote social inclusion of people with this type of disease. Thanks to Basaglia’s innovative and revolutionary contributions, Trieste was a pioneer in Europe; and is still today considered an international reference by the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization (Paho/Ops) for the deconstruction of mental institutions and social reintegration of persons with mental ill health through the formation of social enterprises. The Eurosocial Program, through CISP, will support the Mies throughout the implementation of the pilot project by facilitating technical assistance provided by Trieste experts and an Ops consultant.
