MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT: - libdoc.who.int - World ...

1.Introduction
community, to ensure that national and international development programmes
are inclusive of and accessible to people with disabilities.
This report on mental health and development brings together data and information
from diverse sources ranging from cases studies, the United Nations (UN),
development agencies, governmental and nongovernmental reports through to
systematic reviews of the literature to demonstrate that development outcomes
would be enhanced substantially through targeting people with mental health
conditions as a vulnerable group. People with mental health conditions embody
all major characteristics of vulnerability, and as such should receive development
assistance. In addition, mental health concerns are prominent among other recognized
vulnerable groups. By addressing mental health issues, both people with
mental health conditions and other vulnerable groups will benefit.
This report is divided into several sections. Section 2 provides evidence to show
that people with mental health conditions meet the criteria for being a vulnerable
group. Section 3 looks at the situation from a different perspective, by describing
how vulnerable groups traditionally targeted by development agencies – for
example, women subjected to violence – also have high rates of mental health
conditions. Section 4 explores solutions and provides recommendations for specific
evidence based actions that would improve the lives of people with mental
health conditions thereby improving development outcomes for individuals, their
communities and their country. The final part of the report, Section 5, looks at
possible contributions by different development stakeholders to address mental
health conditions within the context of their policies and associated programmes.
Mental health in low- and middle-income countries is the focus of this report, but
the problems described are by no means confined to developing countries. The
report also provides examples from all parts of the world from which solutions can
be drawn. Examples from specific countries used to illustrate the different issues
should not be viewed as assessments of countries’ overall mental health systems,
nor should they be taken to mean that any country is more or less advanced than
others in protecting the rights of people with mental health conditions.
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