Welcome to the sixth edition of Mental Health and Development, the E-journal produced by BasicNeeds.

This journal synthesizes information about the situation of mentally ill people the world over and serves as a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas in mental health and development. It chronicles new developments and analyses emerging trends in the field. The E-journal consists of three sections: Focus, Beyond Boundaries and World Watch.

The Focus section showcases one of the seven countries where BasicNeeds' programmes operate. After a brief introduction to the country it goes on to discuss the mental health situation in that country. The section also contains articles by and the views of significant stakeholders. The Beyond Boundaries section weaves together the experiences and developments in the other six BasicNeeds country programmes. The World Watch section consists of external articles that highlight issues of mental health and development.

We hope that this E-journal will be useful, informative and inspiring to all stakeholders in the field of mental health and development - mentally ill people and their families, mental health professionals, policy makers, decision makers, students and indeed anyone involved, concerned or interested in mental health.