Accra, Oct 19, GNA - Millions of people with common but untreated, mental, neurological and substance use disorders can now benefit from new simplified diagnosis and treatment guidelines released today by the World Health Organization.

The guidelines are designed to facilitate the management of depression, alcohol use disorders, epilepsy and other common mental disorders in the primary healthcare setting, a statement from the WHO in Accra said on Tuesday.

The intervention guide extends competence in diagnosis and management to non-mental health specialists including doctors, nurses and other health providers.

These evidence-based guidelines are presented as flow charts to simplify the process of providing care in the primary healthcare setting.

"In a key achievement, the intervention guide transforms a world of expertise and clinical experience, contributed by hundreds of experts, into less than 100 pages of clinical wisdom and succinct practical advice," says Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

The WHO estimates that more than 75 per cent of people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders - including nearly 95 million people with depression and more than 25 million people with epilepsy - living in developing countries did not receive any treatment or care. Placing the ability to diagnose and treat them into the primary healthcare system would significantly increase the number of people who can access care, the statement said.

"Improvement in mental health services does not require sophisticated and expensive technologies. What is required is increasing the capacity of the primary healthcare system for delivery of an integrated package of care," says Dr Ala Alwan, Assistant Director-General for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO.

An estimated one in four people globally will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. People with mental, neurological and substance use disorders are often stigmatized and subject to neglect and abuse.

The resources available are insufficient, inequitably distributed and inefficiently used. In the majority of countries, less than two per cent of health funds are spent on mental health. As a result, a large majority of people with these disorders receive no care at all.