Sandra Zaeh writes on the the mental health challenges in Sierra Leone. 

By any Western account, the mental health system in Sierra Leone is struggling.

With one trained government psychiatrist, little funding for psychiatric drugs and mental health facilities, and few opportunities for mental health care outside the capital of Freetown, the majority of mentally ill patients are beyond the reach of biomedical care for mental disorders.

To fill the void, Sierra Leoneans turn to alternatives like traditional healing and spiritual practices to address their mental health needs, options that even Western-trained experts consider crucial to maintaining the country’s mental health. And yet, the balance is tenuous - and, without an infusion of financial and human resources, may not be sustainable. (more…)

Like many developing countries Sri Lanka has suffered from chronic underinvestment in psychiatric services. The need for locally based services was made all the more apparent amid the devastation of the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004. Mehrunisha Suleman, Matthew Fittall and Justin Loke spoke to two doctors about the process of reform, and the role that medical students have played in the wake of the tsumami.

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