Mental health disorders make up 14 percent of global diseases and almost three quarters of the cases occur in lower income areas where treatment is inadequate — if available at all. Grand Challenges Canada, a philanthropic organization funded by the government of Canada, recently launched six mental health projects in Africa, Asia and Haiti to try to address this problem.

“These six evidence-based projects have demonstrated that mental health treatment can be both effective and affordable,” Dr. Karlee Silver, vice president of programs at Grand Challenges Canada, told HCB News. “Through reducing the mental health treatment gap, these innovations will improve the health of tens of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people — those living with mental illnesses in low- and middle-income countries.”

The six global projects received a total investment of $8.7 million from Grand Challenges Canada and its partners — Grand Challenges contributed $4.1 million. So far over 100,000 people have been reached and more than 10,000 people have accessed treatment.

One of the projects focused on care insufficiencies in Kenya. Even though mental disorders are prevalent there, the country only has about 500 practicing psychiatrists and psychologists to serve the more than 44 million citizens, as well as a shortage of drug supplies and government funding. The resources were used to help Kenyan healers and community workers refer 1,600 people to clinics and diagnose 500 people with mental illness.

Projects in Uganda and Zimbabwe were put in motion to address the depression that frequently plagues individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Due to its success, that program will expand to support 14,000 patients in Zimbabwe this year.

A new intervention called Group Support Psychotherapy was recently developed to help HIV/AIDS patients in Uganda manage their depression through social support, which includes teaching positive coping skills and ways to help generate income.

Projects in Pakistan and Vietnam will focus on improving the mental health of children and young adults. In Vietnam, community health workers are being trained to treat anxiety and depression and provide coaching and support for families of children with behavioral difficulties over the phone. In Pakistan, the Family Networks for Kids (FaNs) project creates a web of new recruits to care for youths with developmental disorders.

In Haiti, a single psychiatric hospital and health center exists to meet the needs of the more than 10 million citizens. Now, thanks to Grand Challenges Canada and its partners, a three-year proof-of-concept project is underway in which 10,000 people with depression, epilepsy and suicidal thoughts will receive mental health treatment at 11 sites. Of those, about one third have already experienced improved clinical outcomes.

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