Capacity building in global mental health: professional training

Abstract

We suggest that the optimal approach to building capacity in global mental health care will require partnerships between professional resources in high-income countries and promising health-related institutions in low- and middle-income countries. The result of these partnerships will be sustainable academic relationships that can educate a new generation of in-country primary care physicians and, eventually, specialized health professionals. Research capabilities will be an essential educational component to inform policy and practice, and to ensure careful outcome measurements of training and of intervention, prevention, and promotion strategies. The goal of these academic centers of excellence will be to develop quality, in-country clinical and research professionals, and to build a productive environment for these professionals to advance their careers locally. In sum, this article discusses human capacity building in global mental health, provides recommendations for training, and offers examples of recent initiatives.

Figure 1

Ethiopian psychiatrists. Ethiopian population ∼ 88,000,000. Psychiatrist/population ratio in 2001 ∼ 1:2,000,000. TAAPP, Toronto Addis Ababa Psychiatry Project. Source: Department of Psychiatry, Addis Ababa University.