ABSTRACT
The South Asian region is one of the most populous and at the same time one of the poorest regions in the world. The region faces enormous social, economic and health challenges, including pervasive poverty, inequality,violence,political instability and a high burden of communicable diseases. There is evidence of a demographic and epidemiological transition in most parts of the region; thus, populations are gradually ageing, and non-communicable diseases contribute to a growing share of the burden of disease. There is also considerable evidence of the high burden of mental disorders. Thus in the South Asian region, 11 per cent of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and 27 per cent of years lived with disability (YLDs) are attributed to neuropsychiatric disease. Furthermore, rates of disorders such as depression and anxiety reported from the region are amongst the highest in the world.
