Global Research

Eighty percent of the world’s population lives in low and middle income countries (LMIC) with few mental health resources, resulting in a substantial mental health treatment gap. Growing evidence indicates that evidence-based mental health treatments can be delivered in LMIC using a task-sharing approach, in which nonprofessionals deliver care under supervision. Very limited research, however, focuses on how to embed, support, and effectively deliver these treatments within existing, government-supported systems in which they could be scaled up to population level. With LMIC governments typically spending <2% of their national budget on mental health, innovative and low-cost options are needed for intervention delivery and for implementation support.