Globally, at least 400 million people have a disabling neuro-psychiatric condition. Neuropsychiatric disorders account for 11% of the global disease burden. These disorders will become the second highest cause of the global disease burden by 2020. Depression alone is expected to become the second highest cause of death worldwide (after coronary artery disease).

According to the World Health Organisation, developing countries, with 80% of the world’s population by 2020, are expected to bear the brunt of the projected increase in the burden of mental illness.

The reasons:

• ONLY an estimated 5 to 8 percent of people in developing countries have access to mental health services.
• Poverty is a powerful determinant of psychosocial problems. Poverty does not only mean low income but also that poor people lack support and access to basic services. Thus people with neuropsychiatric disorders and their families are likely to fall into the vicious cycle of poverty and disability.
• People with low income are more at risk of developing schizophrenia.
• Refugees are more likely to suffer from psychological than physical effects, according to the WHO.
• Armed conflict and catatstrophes can lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders and other neuro-psychiatric conditions.

The prevalence of neuro-psychiatric disorders varies widely from country to country. Depression is more common in the Americas and the Western Pacific, while schizophrenia is evenly distributed globally, due to genetic reasons. According to WHO (World Health Report 2001), the global prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders is as follows:

• Major depressive disorders: 120 million
• Alcohol use disorders: 70 million
• Drug related disorders: 15 million
• Schizophrenia: 24 million
• Epilepsy: 40 million
• Dementias: 29 million
• Completed suicides: almost 1 million

Mental illness affects many people in their most productive years, and the economic and social burden, although not yet quantified, is immense. Even today, many people, although recovered from psychosocial problems, remain in over-crowded psychiatric hospitals, with eroded capacity to think and act for themselves. Similarly, many are discharged back into the community prematurely, or without adequate transitional and supportive arrangements in place.

Read more: Next Steps and Future - CBM targeting Mental Health
Further information: WHO Website on Mental Health