Sayed, Ghulam Dastagir2013-05-282013-05-282011-08https://hdl.handle.net/10986/13589Afghanistan has been in internal and external strife for more than thirty years. Prolonged conflict and civil war have left millions dead, thousands with disabilities and massive internal and external population displacement. The situation has contributed negatively to every aspect of the country and society as the majority of the population has been traumatized by constant conflict, natural disasters, and the difficult Taliban years. There is ample evidence that these calamities have contributed to an increase in mental health problems and has been further complicated by growing level of drug abuse. As Afghanistan rebuilds itself, it is critical to understand the challenges and develop workable solutions. The paucity of high quality data on mental health problems and the lack of qualified human resources have hampered the development of cost-effective strategies and interventions to address the growing challenge of mental health in the country. There are few mental health facilities, and these facilities are scattered across the country with limited capacity and low levels of coverage. In addition, the population continues to face the main stressors with ongoing conflict in various parts of the country. To address mental health issues on a larger scale, this paper recommends public awareness-raising campaigns as a foremost prerequisite. It also proposes to draw on existing resources efficiently. Achieving the aforementioned objectives require political support by the Government of Afghanistan along with technical and financial support of the development partners. This will allow necessary expansion of mental health services and will build the capacity of mental health clinicians and public health experts in the country.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICESACUTE EPISODESADOLESCENTSAGEDALCOHOL USEALCOHOL USE DISORDERSANTI-DEPRESSANTANTI-DEPRESSANTSANTIDEPRESSANTANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGANXIETYANXIETY DISORDERSANXIOLYTIC DRUGSBASIC HEALTHBASIC HEALTH SERVICESBASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPIESBEDSBEHAVIORAL THERAPYBIPOLAR DISORDERBREASTFEEDINGBURDEN OF DISEASECHILD CARECITIESCLINICAL OUTCOMESCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTSCOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTCOGNITIVE THERAPYCOMMON MENTAL DISORDERSCOMMUNICABLE DISEASESCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTCOMMUNITY HEALTHCOMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERSCOMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CARECOST EFFECTIVENESSCOUNSELINGCOUNSELLINGCOUNSELORSCRIMEDEATHSDEPRESSANTSDEPRESSIONDEPRESSIVEDEPRESSIVE DISORDERSDETOXIFICATIONDIAGNOSESDIAGNOSISDIARRHEADISABILITIESDISABILITYDISABILITY COMPONENTDISABILITY-ADJUSTED LIFEDISABLED PEOPLEDISASTERSDISEASE CONTROLDISEASE DIAGNOSISDISEASE PATTERNDOCTORSDOMESTIC VIOLENCEDRUG ABUSEDRUG USERSEMOTIONAL SUPPORTEMOTIONSENURESISEPILEPSYEXTERNALITYFAMILIESFIRST AIDFORENSIC MEDICINEFORENSIC PSYCHIATRYHEALTH CARE PROVIDERSHEALTH CENTERSHEALTH EDUCATIONHEALTH EXPERTSHEALTH INDICATORSHEALTH INTERVENTIONSHEALTH MANAGEMENTHEALTH ORGANIZATIONHEALTH POLICYHEALTH PROFESSIONALSHEALTH PROJECTSHEALTH PROMOTIONHEALTH PROVIDERSHEALTH SECTORHEALTH SERVICEHEALTH SERVICE DELIVERYHEALTH SERVICESHEALTH STATUSHEALTH STRATEGYHEALTH SYSTEMHEALTH TRAININGHIGH FERTILITYHOSPITAL SERVICESHOSPITALSHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN RESOURCESHYGIENEILLICIT DRUG USEINCOMEINFANT MORTALITYINFECTIOUS DISEASESINTEGRATIONINTERVENTIONLAWSMAJOR DEPRESSIONMALNUTRITIONMANAGEMENT OF DEPRESSIONMATERNAL MORTALITYMEDICAL DOCTORSMEDICINESMENTALMENTAL DISORDERMENTAL DISORDERSMENTAL HEALTHMENTAL HEALTH ACTIVITIESMENTAL HEALTH BUDGETMENTAL HEALTH EDUCATIONMENTAL HEALTH FACILITIESMENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVESMENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTIONSMENTAL HEALTH ISSUESMENTAL HEALTH NEEDSMENTAL HEALTH POLICYMENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMSMENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALSMENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMSMENTAL HEALTH SERVICEMENTAL HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERYMENTAL HEALTH SERVICESMENTAL HEALTH SPECIALISTSMENTAL HEALTH STATUSMENTAL HEALTH SURVEYMENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMSMENTAL HEALTH TRAININGMENTAL HEALTH TREATMENTMENTAL ILLNESSMENTAL WELLNESSMENTALLY ILLMIGRATIONMILD DEPRESSIONMORBIDITYMORTALITYMOTHERNATURAL DISASTERSNURSESNUTRITIONNUTRITIONAL STATUSPANIC ATTACKSPANIC DISORDERSPATIENTPATIENTSPEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESPHARMACEUTICALSPHOPOST TRAUMATIC STRESSPOST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERPOST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERPOSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERPREVALENCEPREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONSPRIMARY CAREPRIMARY HEALTH CAREPROBABILITYPSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATIONPSYCHIATRIC NURSESPSYCHIATRISTSPSYCHIATRYPSYCHOLOGISTPSYCHOLOGISTSPSYCHOLOGYPSYCHOSISPSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTIONSPSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMSPSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORTPSYCHOSOCIAL TREATMENTPSYCHOSOCIAL TREATMENTSPSYCHOTHERAPYPSYCHOTROPIC DRUGPSYCHOTROPIC DRUGSPUBLIC AWARENESSPUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNSPUBLIC HEALTHQUALITY OF LIFEREFUGEESREHABILITATIONRELAXATION EXERCISESREPRODUCTIVE HEALTHRESPIRATORY INFECTIONSSCHIZOPHRENIASCHOOL HEALTHSECONDARY CARESELF-ESTEEMSELF-HELPSELF-HELP GROUPSSEVERE MENTAL DISORDERSSEVERE SHORTAGESLEEPSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIALIZATIONSOMATIC COMPLAINTSSTRESSESSUBSTANCE ABUSESUBSTANCE USESUBSTANCE USE DISORDERSTBTOUCHTRAUMATRAUMATIC EVENTSTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERTREATMENTTREATMENT ADHERENCETREATMENT OUTCOMESTROPICAL MEDICINETUBERCULOSISUNEMPLOYMENTVIOLENCEVISIONWELLNESSWORKERSWOUNDSYOUNG CHILDRENWorld Bank10.1596/13589