Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to improve mental health provision in low and middle income countries.

DFID is committed to taking a comprehensive and rights-based approach to mental health in low and middle-income countries.

Our Disability Inclusion Strategy sets out how UK Aid will step up its work to promote well-being, increase access to integrated, quality mental health services, and facilitate recovery, empowerment and societal inclusion for people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities.

In Ghana, DFID’s Health Sector Support Programme has supported the integration of quality mental health into broader health systems and addressed stigma and discrimination. DFID’s Improving Mental Health Care programme is generating world-leading evidence on integrating effective mental health care services into primary care in Ethiopia, India, Nepal, South Africa and Uganda. DFID’s support to the Disability Rights Fund, enables organisations led by people with psychosocial disabilities to champion their rights.