A combination of well-targeted treatment and prevention programmes in the field of mental health, within overall pub- lic strategies, could avoid years lived with disability and deaths, reduce the stigma attached to mental disorders, increase considerably the social capital, help reduce poverty and promote a country’s development. Studies provide examples of effective programmes targeted at different age groups – from prenatal and early infancy programmes, through adolescence to old age – and different situations, such as post-traumatic stress following acci- dents, marital stress, work-related stress, and depression or anxiety due to job loss, widowhood or adjustment to retire- ment. Many more studies need to be.
