The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) serves as a comprehensive and legally binding framework for the rights of persons with mental illness. The extent to which countries have adapted their mental health legislation to reflect the binding provisions outlined in the CRPD is unclear. This paper reviews the situation across the Commonwealth.

Despite the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) to put mental health at the core of the health and development agendas, the underdevelopment of services in Africa is widespread. The adoption of the WHO's Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–20 at the 66th World Health Assembly in May 2013 provides an opportunity to reshape policy. In the African Region, mental health generally appears to be of low interest and people with mental health conditions are not prioritised. This article describes factors that contribute to this low level of interest and recommends collective action to prioritise mental health on the public health and social development agendas. It is also a call to all stakeholders to increase financial investment and bring mental health out of the shadows.

Mental illnesses are a growing health problem and reducing the treatment gap in Latin America and the Caribbean is a great challenge. Evaluations conducted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have shown that the responsiveness of health services is still limited. Nonetheless, from an evaluation of how mental health reform has progressed in the region following the historical benchmark of the Caracas Declaration (1990), it is clear that – despite the limitations, shortcomings and challenges – significant progress has been made in most countries. This paper briefly reviews this progress.

Mental disorders are among the leading causes of disease burden in the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization (WHO). Networking and partnership have been identified as the major components of key strategies to address challenges in meeting mental health needs in the region. This article provides a brief review of relevant initiatives collaboratively developed by the WHO, member states in the region and other partners.

Like all European countries, Greece has developed its national legislation based on the principles of equality and the right of representation, but there is no separate, specific mental health law in Greece. This paper describes the law for involuntary psychiatric admission. The law concerning criminal and civil responsibility and the law relating to individuals with addictions committing drug-related crimes are also outlined.

In Turkey, mental health professionals, together with patients and carers, have been involved in the drafting of the Mental Health Bill which is presently under consideration by Parliament. While the Mental Health Law is pending, various pieces of legislation are being used for different types of involuntary admission. The prospective Mental Health Law is of paramount importance for doctors, patients and families.

This paper describes a pilot project in which (for the first time, worldwide) psychiatry was taught to undergraduate medical students in Somalia using an evidence-based intervention – the World Health Organization's Mental Health Gap Action Programme Intervention Guide.

This paper evaluates a model of community mental health service (CMHS) in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. The hospital records were reviewed and the total number of patient admissions and duration of in-patient care before and after enrolment in the CMHS were documented. Patient satisfaction with the CMHS was assessed using a questionnaire. The total number of admissions and the number of days that the patient spent in hospital per year were significantly reduced by the CMHS. Patients had high satisfaction rates with the information and advice they received, with their relationships with CMHS workers, with their access to mental health services and with their drug treatment.

The Lagos State Government of Nigeria recently launched its Mental Health Policy and Work Plan aimed at addressing the mental health needs of Lagos, one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, and its nearby communities. This paper discusses the contextual basis of this initiative, its components and the challenges faced so far. It argues that urban centres deserve attention in the current push towards investing in mental health services in low- and middle-income countries.