Economic development does not improve public mental health spending

Abstract

As a result of rapid globalization the Gross Domestic product of countries may have changed, but the gap between the very rich countries and poor countries has changed too, along with a change in social and economic strata within each society; although the rates of psychiatric disorders are affected by industrialization and urbanization, the financial pressures add yet another layer of burden. Global burden of disease due to mental illness is tremendously high and yet, in spite of pressures, there is no equity and increased discrimination related to mental illness. This paper presents some of the issues related to the economic state of the countries. In order to ensure that citizens receive the best treatments available it is important that socio-economic causes and gaps in treatment are identified and dealt with at national levels.

Keywords:

• Discrimination
• globalization
• global burden
• socio-economic status

Acknowledgements

Our grateful thanks are due to Fahmy Hanna and Shekhar Saxena from the World Health Organization (WHO) for their help and support.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.