An analysis of funding patterns in development assistance for mental health: who, when, what, and where.

BACKGROUND: Mental health has recently gained increasing attention on global health and development agendas, including calls for an increase in international funding. Few studies have previously characterized official development assistance for mental health (DAMH) in a nuanced and differentiated manner in order to support future funding efforts. METHODS: Data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Creditor Reporting System were obtained through keyword searches. Projects were manually reviewed and categorized into projects dedicated entirely to mental health and projects that mention mental health (as one of many aims). Analysis of donor, recipient, and sector characteristics within and between categories was undertaken cumulatively and yearly. FINDINGS: Between the two categories of official DAMH defined, characteristics differed in terms of largest donors, largest recipient countries and territories, and sector classification. However, across both categories there were clear and consistent findings: the top donors accounted for over 80% of all funding identified; the top recipients were predominantly conflict-affected countries and territories, or were receiving nations for conflict-affect refugees; and sector classification demonstrated shifting international development priorities and political drivers. CONCLUSION: Across DAMH, significant amounts of funding are directed toward conflict settings and relevant emergency response by a small majority of donors. Our analysis demonstrated that, within minimal international assistance for mental health overall, patterns of donor, recipient, and sector characteristics favor emergency conflict-affected settings. Calls for increased funding should be grounded in understanding of funding drivers and directed toward both emergency and general health settings.

International funding for mental health: a review of the last decade.

Mental health represents one of the most significant and increasing burdens to global public health. Over the past decade, the once invisible field has gained recognition on the global health agenda and this increased recognition is expected to increase international funding for mental health. Our review found that few studies have been conducted as to the level of international funding for mental health and there is a need for a differentiated assessment. We conducted such an assessment of global development-related assistance for mental health between 2006 and 2016 and established categories to serve as a baseline for future measurement. We found that development assistance specifically dedicated to mental health accounted for just 0.3% of all development assistance for health. Given the limited public expenditure on mental health by national governments in low- and middle-income countries, renewed efforts by the international community and development partners to substantially increase funding for mental health are critical.

Development assistance for neglected tropical diseases: progress since 2009.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is an umbrella term for a diverse group of debilitating infections that represent the most common afflictions for 2.7 billion people living on less than US$2 per day. Major efforts have recently re-focused attention on NTDs, including structured advocacy by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, technical and political support by WHO and large-scale drug donation programs by pharmaceutical companies. An analysis of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) for NTDs in 2009 showed that Development Assistance Committee members and multilateral donors had largely ignored funding NTD control projects. This study reviews the changes since 2009 and finds an increased engagement by pharmaceutical manufacturers through drug donation programs substantially increased by the 'London Declaration' in 2012, a focused effort of 77 public and private partners on control or elimination of the 10 most common NTDs, but no increase in ODA for NTDs between 2008 and 2012. The allocation of ODA still does not reflect the respective importance of these diseases.

Official development assistance for health-how neglected are neglected tropical diseases? An analysis of health financing.

The increasing amounts of official development assistance (ODA) for health have been aimed primarily at fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Neglected tropical diseases (NTD), one of the most serious public health burdens among the most deprived communities, have only recently drawn the attention of major donors. While frequently stated, the low share of funding for NTD control projects has not been calculated empirically. Our analysis of ODA commitments for infectious disease control for the years 2003 to 2007 confirms that Development Assistance Committee (DAC)-countries and multilateral donors have largely ignored funding NTD control projects. On average, only 0.6% of total annual health ODA was dedicated to the fight against NTDs while the average share of control projects for HIV/AIDS was 36.3%, for malaria 3.6%, and for tuberculosis 2.2%. This allocation of health ODA does not reflect the diseases' respective health burdens. Furthermore, the availability of cost-efficient treatments for NTDs supports the call for an increase in funds dedicated to the control of NTDs.