Mental Health in low-and middle income countries (LMICs): Going beyond the need for funding

Abstract

Despite being globally recognised as an important public health issue, mental health is still less prioritised as a disease burden in many Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). More than 70% of the global mental health burden occurs in these countries. We discussed mental health issues in LMICs under themes such as abuse and mental illness, cultural influence on mental health, need for dignity in care, meeting financial and workforce gaps and the need for national health policy for the mental health sector. We highlighted that although mental health education and health care services in most LMICs are poorly resourced; there is an urgent need to address issues beyond funding that contribute to poor mental health. In order to meet the increasing challenge of mental health illness in LMICs, there is a need for effort to address cultural and professional challenges that contribute to poor mental health among individuals. We have a notion that mental health should be integrated into primary health care in LMICs. Creating awareness on the impact of some cultural attitudes/practices will encourage better uptake of mental health services and increase the ease when discussing mental health issues in these countries which can contribute to reducing the poor mental health in LMICs.

Developing a Theory of Change model of service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening in primary health care in rural Ethiopia

“…In low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), service user and caregiver involvement has been widely recommended as an essential ingredient of strengthening weak mental health systems [ 14 , 15 ], which has potential to increase the likelihood of scale-up of appropriate and quality mental healthcare [ 16 , 17 ], and reduce the treatment gap for quality care [ 8 , 18 ]. However, in LMICs, there is less prioritization and government support for either mental healthcare provision or involvement of service users [ 19 , 20 ]. Furthermore, there are often no policies and laws to direct mental health programs and/or the policies and laws are not fully in line with human rights recommendations (e.g., service user participation) or are poorly implemented [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Participatory action research to pilot a model of mental health service user involvement in an Ethiopian rural primary healthcare setting: study protocol

“…In low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), where more than 80% of service-users are living [10], there is less prioritization and government support for either mental health care provision or involvement of service users [10,11]. In many of these countries, there are no policies and laws to direct mental health programs and/ or the policies and laws are not aligned with human rights recommendations (e.g., social care, participation) or are poorly implemented [10,11].…”

“…In low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), where more than 80% of service-users are living [10], there is less prioritization and government support for either mental health care provision or involvement of service users [10,11]. In many of these countries, there are no policies and laws to direct mental health programs and/ or the policies and laws are not aligned with human rights recommendations (e.g., social care, participation) or are poorly implemented [10,11]. Service-users are exposed to stigma and discrimination [12,13] and have several unmet needs [13], exemplified by suffering of illness and disability [14], impoverishment [15], premature mortality [16,17], and human rights abuses(e.g., being chained or kept in isolation) [12,18].…”

Contribution of community-based sociotherapy interventions for the psychological well-being of Rwandan youths born to genocide perpetrators and survivors: analysis of the stories telling of a sociotherapy approach

“…This high occurrence is influenced by less prioritization for mental health services and insufficiency of mental health interventions [4]. It was found that more than 70% of the global mental health burden occurs in LMICs [5]. The American Psychological Association (APA) developed guidelines that play a crucial role in preventing mental health disorders by promoting a preventive perspective in psychological well-being (PWB).…”