How do poor mental health and poverty interact, and how can we best ensure access to mental health services?
Across the world, countries under spend on mental health. This disparity is worse in developing countries owing to lower overall healthcare budgets and a higher burden of other health conditions. In this VoxDev talk, Vikram Patel discusses the channels through which living in poverty can impact mental health. He also emphasises how poor mental health can cause poverty, something that is often overlooked by policymakers. De-medicalising our emphasis on mental health care will be important to increase access to mental health services.