In 2015 WHO updated the mhGAP guidelines, first issued in 2009, for the management of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) disorders. In order to reduce the gap and to enhance the capacity of Member States to respond to the growing challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP).1 mhGAP has provided health planners, policy-makers and donors with a set of clear and coherent activities and programmes for scaling up care for MNS disorders. An essential component of mhGAP is the evidence-based guideline for MNS disorders identified as conditions of high priority for LAMICs. The mhGAP guidelines are an essential component of the mhGAP programme, which supports the integration of services on MNS disorders in the primary care settings of low- and middle-income countries.