Challenges and Opportunities in Delivering Mental Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

This chapter discusses the provision of mental health services in low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs) in the context of understanding the challenges prevailing and how the available opportunities can be utilized in their sociocultural contexts to improve the delivery of mental health services. Challenges in delivering mental health care in LAMICs are multifold. Many barriers exist in different domains such as infrastructure, human resources, political will, and stigma. These factors interact with one another and cause the prevention of the delivering mental health care to the population. In some countries, there can be abject poverty and no share of GDP provided for the medical expenses leading to no hospitals. This being in one end of the spectrum while the other end may be there can be hospitals but people are not utilizing the available resources due to various other reasons. In this chapter, we will address the various challenges faced in the developing and delivering mental health in the LAMICs. We will then discuss the possible opportunities available or different models existing to bridge this gap in the mental health care in the LAMICs. This can be achieved only by coordinated collective action from different stakeholders involved in the provision of mental health services in the community.