Mental health, an often neglected disability.
10 July 2018
On the 24th July this year, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), International Disability Alliance and the Government of Kenya are hosting the world’s first Global Disability Summit in London in order to rally global efforts to address disability inclusion in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and lay the foundation for significant progress on a seriously neglected problem.
Mental health disorders are a significant, but often overlooked, disability. Defined as “a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the stresses of normal life, can work productively and fruitfully, and makes a contribution to her or his community”[1], mental health contributes significantly to overall health and wellbeing. While certain distinctions can be made between mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) conditions, they are all included under the banner of global mental health and arise in “interaction with various structural, social and physical barriers” and “can restrict full and equal participation in society, resulting in psychosocial disability.”[2]
Estimated to affect 1 in 4 people during their lifetime globally [3], mental health conditions account for over 10% of the global burden of disease and are the number one cause of years lived with a disability. Staggeringly, 80% of this global burden accrues to LMICs, with 76-85% those afflicted receiving no treatment whatsoever for their disorder: a key consequence of the acute shortage of health care workers. In the context of the wider development agenda, mental health issues are also a leading contributor to loss of economic output, set to reach $7.3 trillion between 2011 and 2030[4].
With this in mind, THET recognises the urgent need to address global mental health needs in order to meet our vision of a world where everyone everywhere has access to affordable and quality healthcare. Internally our mental health technical task force supports THET to:
- Increase the availability of and access to quality mental health care, as well as building the capacity of medical professionals, community health workers, educators and medical institutions to identify, diagnose and treat patients in LMICs;
- Push mental health up the agenda of donors and national governments’ health plans;
- End the stigmatisation of people with mental health issues, which prevents them from seeking and receiving care, and living a dignified life as equal members of society.
Under the DFID-funded Health Partnership Scheme (HPS), THET also awarded 20 grants to mental health projects in LMICs, reaching a total budget of approximately £1.25m. Since 2011, 5,843 mental health workers were trained and it is estimated that 25,000 people in LMICs have benefitted from improved services as a result. Outside of the HPS and in partnership with King’s College London, THET also introduced Somaliland’s first psychiatry course for final year medical students at Boroma University and established clinical placements on wards across the country.
The international development community, including LMIC governments and donors, must do more, however, to close the treatment gap. We look forward to the Global Disability Summit in anticipation of the progress we can all make ahead.
[1] http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/
[2] https://bmcinthealthhumrights.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-698X-13-17
[3] http://www.who.int/whr/2001/media_centre/press_release/en/
[4] https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/PP68-demenil-glassman-GMH-LMIC.pdf
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