A global report titled “Mental Health Funding and the SDGs: What now and who pays?” was launched in, Freetown, Sierra Leone on 21 June 2016. The report prepared by Jessica MacKenzie of UK’s Overseas Development Institute was commissioned by the World Health Organization and the Mental Health Innovation Network with funding from Grand Challenges Canada. The Report highlights current mental health funding partners, funding gaps and potential new funders that could potentially improve access and quality of mental health services around the world.

At the initiation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), various stakeholders including WHO, recommended the inclusion of mental health wording into Goal 3 of the global target: ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages’.

Commissioning of this report was aimed at putting the highlight on challenges of establishing and strengthening mental health systems by mobilising adequate resources and infrastructure particularly for low and middle income Countries.

The report was launched in London on 19 May 2016. Sierra Leone was selected for an international low-income country re-launch of the report in order to help raise awareness of mental health service gaps and financing needs as well as increasing commitment for prioritisation of mental health interventions in low and middle-income countries.

Globally it is estimated that one in four people will be affected by mental disorders during their lifetime; three out of every four people suffering from mental disorders live in low or middle income countries with high economic burden on their communities. However, less than 1% of annual health budgets in low-income countries is allocated to mental health thus severely limiting evidence-based treatment and care for the mentally ill.

In Sierra Leone, like many low-income countries, mental health remains largely underfunded despite the dilapidated hospital, critically low availability of skilled personnel and almost no services outside of the only hospital in Freetown. Using WHO standard prevalence data, it is estimated that Sierra Leone has about 450,000 people with depression in a year and 75,000 may have schizophrenia among the country’s 7 million population.  

Globally, WHO supports governments to promote mental health and prevent mental disorders. In 2013, the World Health Assembly approved a "Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020" as a commitment by all WHO Member States to improve mental health and to contribute to the attainment of global targets. In Sierra Leone, WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to revise the 1902 “Lunacy Act” as well as to revise the Mental Health Policy and Strategic Plan, as a first step to strengthening delivery of quality, accessible, community-oriented and humane mental health services.

Link to the Report: here