ABSTRACT
Nearly a hundred million people live in rural areas of Pakistan. Like most developing countries modern medical care facilities are scant and programmes for mental health care abysmal. There is one qualified psychiatrist for one million of the population and each of these too, is based in the urban setting. The allied professionals like trained psychiatric nurses, psychologists and social workers are non-existent. The limited resources are further compartmentalised and jeopardised as the bulk of funding goes to tertiary centres and teaching hospitals and very little is spent on developing facilities in the rural areas. As a result, whatever facilities are available are not within the reach of 66 per cent of the total population of the country so the majority remains unserved, underserved or inappropriately served. Unfortunately the country has failed to provide basic mental health care or to improve the mental health of the people.
