Mental Health Initiative for South Asia

Welcome to the website of the Mental Health Initiative for South Asia (MhiSA). MhiSA is an initiative promoting science and research partnerships in the area of mental health between the countries of South Asia and the UK, underpinned by a collaboratively-developed strategy. The countries in the British Council’s South Asia region which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have all been categorised as Low and middle-income countries (LAMIC), and they often struggle to provide adequate mental health services.

The remit of MhiSA is to to identify identify contextualised research in these regions, to create a voice and collective wisdom, support long-term action plans, provide information and inform policy development.

Main Objectives

  • Provide a platform for scientists, researchers and policy-makers to discuss different aspects of mental health and share knowledge and expertise
  • Help fill the gap between mental health research and policy/ practice
  • Explore possibilities of promoting research and studies in the area of mental health
  • Develop a sustainable network of mental health research, policy and practice within South Asia and with the UK.