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Student Editorials

Mental health in developing countries

BMJ 2007; 335 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0710344 (Published 01 October 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:0710344
  1. Justin Loke, final year medical student1,
  2. Vikram Patel, professor of international mental health2
  1. 1University of Oxford
  2. 2London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT

We cannot afford to ignore the burden of mental disease, argue Justin Loke and Vikram Patel

Mental health is under-represented in global health and development. It is neglected in preference to diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria. Have you heard the singer Bono or Bill Clinton talk about mental disorders? Is this because we are only too willing to ignore mental disorder even when they are in our own backyard? Only half of European countries have a clear national mental health programme, and more than half of people affected by mental disorders do not receive treatment.

A former professor in Kandahar Afghanistan, chained up for 32 years, due to his mental condition

SCOTT NELSON/GETTY IMAGES

The reason for the neglect of mental health certainly isn't because mental disorders are unimportant: neuropsychiatric conditions represent 12.3% of the global burden of disease and 31% of all years lived with disability.1 Even in the poorest countries of the world, mental disorders account for almost 10% of the total burden of disease. The global burden of mental disorders is projected to rise to 15% by 2020.

This increase is partly because of a reduction in the burden of perinatal and infectious disease morbidity, but rapidly changing social structures may also play a role. For example, traditional social support systems have been …

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