Strategy and Action for Mental Health in South Asia

The Mental Health Initiative of South Asia (MhiSA) is a three year project promoting science and research partnerships between the countries of South Asia and the UK.  The development of the Workshop for 2018 is a collaboration between the British Council and Bangor University with support from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, to bring together academics, service deliverers, stakeholders and policymakers in order to identify strategic priorities for mental health research and intervention in South Asia. The World Health Organisation's mental health Action Plan sets out four primary goals:

  1. More effective leadership and governance for mental health;
  2. The provision of comprehensive, integrated mental health and social care services in community-based settings;
  3. Implementation of strategies for promotion and prevention; and
  4. Strengthened information systems, evidence and research.

MhiSA will adopt these goals as the guiding principles for project objectives:

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.

Expected Outcomes

  • Identify mental health challenges in South Asia region as well as opportunities for international collaboration to address those challenges.
  • Highlight the potential contributions of UK researchers and affiliated international entities to help address mental health challenges in the region
  • Develop a series of actionable projects under each study theme

Broader Perspectives

Three overarching perspectives help frame future actions and outcomes: Public awareness, child mental health and skill sharing. Additionally, communication was identified as an enabler for the three targets.

Proposed timeline

The three targets will be addressed through a number of events that will be held during 2018 and 2019.