RESUMO
Links between health institutions in countries with high incomes and those with incomes in the low-middle range are becoming more common, and benefits from these links are increasingly recognized. One such link is between Kings College Hospital and THET (Tropical Health and Education Trust) and their partners in Somaliland. The mental health part of the link consists of public service providers, educational institutions, and local nongovernmental organizations in Somaliland with mental health volunteers from the United Kingdom, led by the Institute of Psychiatry. The authors describe how careful planning has permitted the collaboration to evolve to allow mental health services to become embedded into activities that strengthen the Somaliland health sector.