ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on illicit psychoactive substances, while issues related to alcohol use. The development of services for substance misusers in developing countries has been slow or non-existent. National mental health programmes promoted by WHO have often referred to the growth of substance misuse in developing countries and the need for developing addiction services. Alcohol services are often provided by mainstream mental health services. Drug treatment has been confined to detoxification for people with opiate addiction, but not maintenance treatment. High mental health morbidity has a particularly adverse effect on general health and social well-being in the population of low- and middle-income countries. Training costs can be reduced by joint funding between organizations and areas or by “skill sharing”, where staff from drugs projects train mental health teams and vice versa. This has the added benefit of eroding some of the barriers and misunderstandings between services.
