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The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the need for action to reduce the burden, and to enhance the capacity of Member States to respond to this growing challenge. In this renewed commitment to the Mental Health Global Action Programme (mhGAP), WHO presents health planners, policy-makers, and donors with a set of clear and coherent activities and programmes for scaling up care for MNS disorders.

The objectives of the programme are to reinforce the commitment of all stakeholders to increase the allocation of financial and human resources for care of MNS disorders and to achieve higher coverage with key interventions especially in the countries with low and lower middle incomes that have large proportions of the global burden of these disorders.

Since countries with low and lower middle incomes have most of the global burden, and because they have limited human and financial resources, a strategy that focuses on these countries has the potential for maximum impact. mhGAP provides criteria to identify the countries which contribute most to the burden of MNS disorders and which have a high resource gap.

This programme is grounded on the best available scientific and epidemiological evidence about MNS conditions that have been identified as priorities. It attempts to deliver an integrated package of interventions, and takes into account existing and possible barriers for scaling up care. Priority conditions were identified on the basis that they represented a high burden (in terms of mortality, morbidity, and disability); caused large economic costs; or were associated with violations of human rights. These priority conditions are depression, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, suicide, epilepsy, dementia, disorders due to use of alcohol, disorders due to use of illicit drugs, and mental disorders in children. The mhGAP package consists of interventions for prevention and management for each of these priority conditions, on the basis of evidence about the effectiveness and feasibility of scaling up these interventions. mhGAP provides a template for an intervention package that will need to be adapted for countries, or regions within countries, on the basis of local context.

The obstacles that hinder the widespread implementation of these interventions must also be considered, together with the options that are available to deal with these. mhGAP provide a framework for scaling up the interventions for MNS disorders, taking into account the various constraints that might exist in the country.

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