Mental Health System Development in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sri Lanka has been a model country for many decades in terms of quality of population health outcomes in a low- or middle-income country, with relatively small but smart investment in population health. It has, however, experienced 30 years of civil conflict, ending in a brutal civil war in 2009. The island’s coastal regions were devastated, with massive loss of life and population displacement, by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. The conflict and the tsunami brought to the fore the importance of renewed attention to the mental health of the Sri Lanka population, particularly among the most affected communities. While indigenous conceptions of mental health and illness, and strong Ayurvedic..