The mental health of individuals in developing countries settings and indigenous communities worldwide is a frequently neglected area of health care. Yet, significant morbidity and mortality are associated with mental illness. The World Development Report of 1993 demonstrated that mental illnesses cause a greater burden of disease and disability than tuberculosis, cancer or heart disease throughout the world. Often the needs of individuals suffering from mental illness are met poorly, if at all, in resource-poor settings. In these environments one trained mental health professional may have the responsibility of managing clinical care for hundreds of individuals, collecting epidemiologic data, conducting research, and communicating the results with the wider community, as well as training new providers. Mental health-focused non-governmental organizations (NGOs) often help fill the gap, but great need persists. As a result, individuals in need receive limited care, professionals are over-burdened, and development and implementation of new ideas occurs slowly. In some cases innovative approaches to care uniquely suited to these settings are never disseminated to others who could benefit.

Mental health workers in these settings often lament the lack of 1) information about mental health issues in their populations, 2) research data to guide development of relevant and feasible treatment/prevention approaches, 3) evidence-based solutions to mental health problems that are not imported from Northern countries, and 4) opportunities to join in the discussion of these issues with their regional and international colleagues.

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