A preliminary analysis of securitising mental health in LAMICs regional groups: The case of ASEAN

The new century has witnessed unprecedented efforts by both international institutions and mental health movements to promote and prioritise mental health at the same level as other priority health issues,especially HIV/AIDS. The release of the highly influential Lancet series on global mental health in 2007 highlighted these efforts,and the slogan no health without mental health became widely known. Despite success in developed regions,mental health and illness have been largely neglected in lesser developed areas made up mostly of low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs). This preliminary research explored the efforts to prioritise mental health through securitisation and attempted to determine why such efforts are not successful in LAMICs regions,focusing on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a case study. According to our findings,a primary reason mental health is not prioritised in ASEAN is the difference in the values and social norms of LAMICs versus liberal-Western values and norms. These liberal-Western values and norms are the root of securitising,prioritising efforts. Securitisation can be considered a humanitarian effort,because the process is grounded in moral arguments and a universal value of human rights and dignity. For such securitisation efforts to succeed,however,a region must share the values at its roots. The final recommendation is that mental health advocates find a more pragmatic strategy in order to make the efforts workable within LAMICs regions. © Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.