Citation

Hailemariam M, Pathare S. Lancet Psychiatry 2020; 7(12): 1011-1012.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30398-9

PMID

33220190

Abstract

In 2020, The Lancet Psychiatry published a Position Paper by Moreno and colleagues in which the authors claimed "an international group of clinicians, mental health experts, and users of mental health services has come together to reflect on the challenges for mental health that COVID-19 poses." The authors recommended putting in place service provision that targets health needs and reduces disparities, both globally and within individual countries. Although the authors claimed to be an international group of 24, there were no representatives from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) of Africa and Asia (except China), which together account for more than half of the world's population. Apart from some research and practice evidence from China, the rest of the evidence was from high-income countries (HICs) and the authors, with the exception of the author from China and one author from Colombia, were also from HICs. We believe this shows a systematic failure to ensure equity and representation at multiple levels, starting with the journal's editorial team, the peer reviewers, and the authors themselves. Beyond political correctness and token representation, global mental health should reflect equitable partnerships and incontrovertibly global collaborations that bring forth issues affecting the global community. Some of the world's densely populated regions with complex settlement patterns are located within LMICs. Furthermore, LMICs host 85% of the global refugee population and constitute some of the most socially interconnected communities. Beyond the direct health impact of the pandemic, the traditional...

Language: en