South African researchers call for new framework to help prioritize global mental health

"For mental health to gain significant attention, and funding from policymakers globally, it is not enough to convince people that it has a high disease burden but also that there are deliverable and cost-effective interventions -- according to South African researchers writing in this week's PLoS Medicine," a PLoS press release reports, adding, "Mark Tomlinson and Crick Lund from the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health based at the University of Cape Town argue that global mental health must demonstrate its social and economic impact." According to the press release, the authors "discuss a framework to help understand why some global health initiatives are more successful in generating funding and political priority than others" (2/28).