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

People with mental health conditions also face barriers in accessing other sources
of income. Many countries do not provide social grants to people with mental
health conditions, and where available, they are usually insufficient to move people
out of poverty. In other cases, people with mental health conditions are excluded
from income-generating programmes. This has particular implications for the
rural poor, who need support as they attempt to escape poverty through incomegenerating
activities.
Most of our members are sidelined from development projects, even
after undergoing treatment in the communities where they live. The result
is continued poverty, and large numbers relapse as a result. It is a cost
to the country because our members, who are languishing in destitute
conditions, are capable of contributing to national development, but they
are not being given a chance.
—Sylvester Katontoka, President of Mental Health Users Network of
Zambia 134
Due to lack of access to employment and other income-generating opportunities,
people with mental health conditions are at heightened risk of descending into
poverty. In Brazil, Chile, India and Zimbabwe, national surveys have shown that
mental health conditions are twice as frequent among the lowest income groups
compared with the highest. 135 Also in Brazil, children living in abject poverty have
been shown to be five times more likely to have mental health conditions than
middle class children. 136
Some country examples:
• In Poland, one study found that 95% of employers would not want to employ a
person with schizophrenia for any position. In a second study, 70% of respondents
believed that people with mental health conditions should not be employed
in positions such as childcare, medicine, or government. Data indicate that only
10% of people with mental health conditions in Poland are employed, compared
with 48% of the general population. 133
• In Uganda, a recent study revealed two important reasons why people with
mental health conditions are denied access to microcredit services. The first
is that they are believed to have impaired functioning, unable to meaningfully
engage in productive work, and hence incapable of repaying loans. Secondly, it
was believed that people with mental health conditions would not be charged
before the law if they defaulted on their loans, leaving lenders without recourse
in case of non-payment. 137
• Data on employment services and outcomes in the United States of America
indicate that in 2006, 73% of people with disabilities associated with mental
health conditions were unemployed. 138
2.Peoplewithmentalhealthconditionscompriseavulnerablegroup
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