Developing child mental health services in developing countries.

There is an urgent need to pay attention to the mental health of children in developing countries. Professionals confronted with this task face a number of challenges. Services have to be planned in a rational way, keeping in mind the needs of local populations. These needs will often exceed the available resources, and it will be necessary to set priorities. Feasible and cost-effective models of service delivery then have to be developed to meet these needs. This annotation provides a framework within which mental health needs of children can be assessed, priorities established, and services organised. This is illustrated with examples of relevant activities undertaken in low-income developing countries over the last two decades.