Scaling up mental health services: where would the money come from?

This editorial and accompanying article are the second in a series of four articles and editorials about the central importance of including mental health in global development policy and practice. The first article set out some of the core concepts and summarised the current state of knowledge on key mental health issues. The article below addresses social, economic and political challenges to addressing the burgeoning burden of mental illness in low- and middle-income countries. Later articles in this series will address in detail international and national policy challenges and solutions to them and health system challenges and ways in which these can be effectively addressed; while their accompanying editorials will highlight key issues for policy makers from a public policy perspective.