''PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN PARAGUAY"

The public health service in Paraguay is limited due to the lack of technical, economical and human recourses, and also for the scarcity of free medical assistance, in spite of the current legal policies. For the mental health attention, only 1% of the national health budget is provided. Luckily, the new mental health policies, approved in January 2011, are oriented to the eradication of the human rights violations suffered by the users, considering the gradual deinstitutionalization and community reinsertion. With the goal of sampling the mental health services in Paraguay; background, reports and policies are presented in this article. They summarize the current situation of the handicapped and mentally disabled, as well as the new projects planned for the next decade.