The world of medicine has long recognized that the brain and the mind are inseparable from the broader human condition — and from the societies, economies, and environments in which people live. Yet for decades, neurological and psychiatric disorders have occupied a peculiar space in global health: omnipresent in their burden, yet frequently peripheral in their prioritization. It is with this paradox firmly in mind that we launch the Journal of Global Health Neurology and Psychiatry (JGHNP), a peer-reviewed, open-access publication dedicated to advancing research, dialogue, and action at the intersection of brain health and global public health.
The need for such a journal has never been more urgent. Neurological and mental disorders collectively constitute one of the largest contributors to the global burden of disease. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, neurological conditions alone accounted for 11.6% of global disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019, representing over 250 million years of healthy life lost.1 When psychiatric disorders are included — depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, and others — that figure rises dramatically. The World Health Organization estimated that, as of 2019, nearly one billion people globally were living with a mental or neurological disorder.2
Despite this staggering prevalence, investment in brain health research and care has remained disproportionately low, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The so-called “treatment gap” — the difference between those who need care and those who receive it — exceeds 75% for severe mental disorders in many LMICs.3 This gap is not merely a clinical problem; it is a humanitarian and socioeconomic crisis. Untreated neurological and psychiatric conditions fuel cycles of poverty, reduce workforce productivity, destabilize families, and overburden fragile health systems.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically amplified these existing vulnerabilities. A global systematic review published in 2021 found that the pandemic was associated with substantial increases in the prevalence of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, with an estimated additional 53 million cases of major depression and 76 million cases of anxiety disorders worldwide attributable to the pandemic in 2020 alone.4 Simultaneously, neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection — including encephalopathy, stroke, and post-COVID cognitive impairment (“brain fog”) — have introduced an entirely new dimension to the relationship between infectious disease and brain health, a relationship that demands sustained and rigorous scientific inquiry.
A Journal Born of Necessity
The field of global mental health has matured considerably over the past two decades, shaped by landmark initiatives such as the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development and the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030.5,6 Nevertheless, dedicated publishing venues for research that explicitly integrates a global health perspective with neuroscience and psychiatry remain sparse. Too often, findings relevant to LMICs are published in regional or lower-visibility outlets, while flagship journals in neurology and psychiatry remain dominated by research from high-income settings.
The JGHNP is conceived explicitly to address this imbalance. We seek to be a home for rigorous epidemiological studies, clinical trials, health systems research, implementation science, health policy analysis, and qualitative inquiry that engages with the realities of brain health across diverse global contexts. We are especially committed to amplifying research conducted by investigators from LMICs, and to publishing work that informs equitable solutions rather than simply documenting inequities.
Scope and Thematic Focus
The scope of this journal reflects the breadth and complexity of its subject matter. Neurological conditions — including epilepsy, stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and infectious diseases of the central nervous system — impose enormous burdens across all regions of the world, yet manifest with distinct epidemiological profiles shaped by local determinants of health. Epilepsy alone affects approximately 50 million people worldwide, with nearly 80% living in LMICs and as many as three-quarters receiving no treatment whatsoever.7
Psychiatry, too, demands a genuinely global lens. Transcultural psychiatry has long taught us that the expression, experience, and meaning of mental illness are shaped by culture, social context, and history. Diagnostic frameworks developed predominantly in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies may not translate seamlessly across cultures. The JGHNP will actively foster research that interrogates these assumptions and builds culturally valid, locally appropriate approaches to mental health care.
We also recognize the indispensable role of the social determinants of brain health: poverty, food insecurity, conflict, displacement, climate change, gender-based violence, and structural racism all shape neurological and psychiatric outcomes in ways that conventional biomedical research too often fails to capture. Papers examining these intersections will be among our most valued contributions.
The journal will further devote significant attention to mental health service delivery and global health systems. Innovative models such as task-sharing — in which non-specialist health workers deliver evidence-based psychological and pharmacological interventions under supervision — have demonstrated remarkable potential in resource-limited settings.8 Digital mental health, community-based rehabilitation, integration of mental health into primary care, and the role of traditional healers are among the many implementation-focused themes we intend to explore rigorously.
Ethics, Equity, and Editorial Vision
This journal is founded on a commitment to equity in all its dimensions — equity in who conducts research, equity in who benefits from research findings, and equity in whose voices are heard in scientific discourse. We are acutely aware of the ethical pitfalls that have historically characterized research conducted by investigators from high-income countries in LMIC settings: extractive research practices, absent feedback loops to host communities, and findings that serve metropolitan academic careers more than local health outcomes. The JGHNP commits to editorial policies that discourage such practices and actively promote genuine global partnerships in research.
We also acknowledge the profound stigma that continues to surround neurological and psychiatric conditions in every society on earth. Stigma is not merely a social inconvenience; it is a documented barrier to treatment-seeking, a driver of human rights violations in psychiatric facilities, and a source of immeasurable suffering for individuals and their families.9 Research on anti-stigma interventions and the experiences of people living with neurological and mental disorders — including first-person accounts — will be welcomed in these pages.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge the workforce crisis in global brain health. The global median number of mental health workers stands at just 9 per 100,000 population, with stark disparities between high-income and low-income countries.10 Training, retaining, and supporting the next generation of neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health nurses in all regions of the world is a global health imperative. The JGHNP aspires to be a resource for this emerging global workforce, publishing educational content alongside original research and commentary.
An Invitation
The launch of the Journal of Global Health Neurology and Psychiatry represents not an arrival, but a beginning. We invite researchers, clinicians, policymakers, advocates, and people with lived experience of neurological and psychiatric conditions from every part of the world to submit their work, engage with our content, join our reviewer community, and help shape the direction of this publication. The challenges we face are vast; the need for rigorous, actionable, and equitable science has never been greater. We are honored to be part of the effort to meet it.