Psychiatry in Developing Countries
The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) has a strong interest in improving awareness about mental health issues in developing countries and the development of psychiatric care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The Section’s work has a focus on equitable access to psychiatric care regardless of the cultural, linguistic or socioeconomic status of the country or population groups. This aligns with the broader WPA Action Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to ensure health and well-being for all, addressing issues like stigma, human resource shortages, and fragmented service delivery models that are particularly challenging in developing countries.
The Section's main objectives include:
Addressing inequities by developing innovative strategies to support underprivileged communities and enhance responses to mental health challenges in LMICs.
Promoting education and training worldwide but with a focus on resource-constrained settings by improving the quality and accessibility of psychiatric education and training.
Advocacy for investment in psychiatric workforce particularly by supporting early-career professionals in LMICs.
Fostering knowledge sharing to address global mental health needs and disparities.
The Section’s work has a focus on equitable access to psychiatric care regardless of the cultural, linguistic or socioeconomic status of the country or population groups. This aligns with the broader WPA Action Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to ensure health and well-being for all, addressing issues like stigma, human resource shortages, and fragmented service delivery models that are particularly challenging in developing countries.
Objectives
The Section's main objectives include:
Section Officers
Chair
Dr Rajesh Nagpa (MBBS, M.D.)
Practicing Neuropsychiatrist, Sexologist, Addiction Psychiatrist
Manobal Klinik, A-2, Ground Floor Rajouri Garden, New Delhi, India
Co-Chair
Professor Valsamma Eapen (MBBS., FRCPsych., FRANZCP., PhD)
Chair of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UNSW Sydney
Mental Health Centre, Level 1, Liverpool Hospital, 1 Elizabeth Street, Liverpool NSW 2170, Australia
Section member list can be found here
Section Publications
Summary of the Section of Psychiatry in Developing Countries activities at the WPA Conference, Prague, 2025
Co- Chair, Valsamma Eapen, gave a plenary talk on “Watch Me Grow”, towards an international roadmap for early detection of children and adolescents with developmental and mental health support needs.
Section Activities
The Section engages in various activities to achieve its goals:
Collaborating on initiatives to create and disseminate culturally relevant and appropriate training resources, such as guidelines and educational packages for the general public and professionals. For example, developed training course on assessment and management of developmental and intellectual disability for medical practitioners in Vietnam.
Calling for and conducting research projects to explore factors related to mental health delivery, policies and practices. For example, a project is examining the experiences of quality of life in parents of autistic children with a focus on developing countries.
Participating in programs like the WPA Volunteer Program, which aims to leverage expertise from high-income countries to provide training where it is needed most. For example, on-site and lunch time seminars for mental health workers from the Pacific countries via Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry.
