The association between mental illness and poor physical health has been known for decades (Philips, 1934). This is not a trivial relationship between mental ill health and minor physical problems but an association with such poor physical health that it results in premature death. For example, a study in the USA showed that the life expectancy of those with schizophrenia or other serious mental illness was 9 years shorter than for the general population (Dembling et al, 1999). Similarly, those with learning disabilities have an increased risk of early death, and this increase is greater in those with severe disability.

Recently, the UK government expressed concern about the rising tide of antisocial behaviour among young people who, in certain areas of the country, were habitually engaging in acts of minor delinquency – often fuelled by drink. On the other hand, legislation was introduced to make it legal for premises that sell alcohol to remain open longer, up to 24 hours a day. This latter arrangement has courted considerable controversy. For example, the British Medical Association commented that any extension to licensing hours requires a programme of research, after its introduction, to look at its health consequences - both acute and chronic.

On 10 January 2006, ITV2, a UK television channel, ran a 90-minute programme called Britain's Youngest Boozers. It claimed that one in three younger people are binge drinkers and that one in six is dependent on alcohol. The comments in interviews with adolescents and families were stark and worrying. Although the age parameters were not clear at the start of the programme, it focused on those aged up to 25 years and presented enormously serious concerns about the changed patterns of drinking among Britain's younger people.

The population of Taiwan is 98% Han and 2% indigenous. Taiwanese Hans are, ethnically, an immigrant Chinese population. Traditionally, indigenous families make wine and, just like tea to the Hans or coffee in Western social settings, wine is served to entertain the guests in the indigenous culture. Alcohol drinking is a way of delivering a message of their conviviality. It also has a central role in traditional harvest festivals, ancestor worship and wedding ceremonies (Historical Research Commission of Taiwan Province, 1996).

Alcohol use and misuse among young people continue to be a major public health concern, despite decades of initiatives aimed at educating young people about the hazards of alcohol. Yet where do young people learn about alcohol use? How do they form attitudes about the effects and risks of drinking? Increasing evidence suggests that young people learn not only from real people (e.g. peers and parents) in their everyday lives but also from characters whose lives they witness through the media. In fact, the mass media have been recognised as significant sources of information about substance use that can influence young people's beliefs and expectations (Bahk, 2001; Sargent et al, 2002).

Afghanistan's historic strategic position between the great civilisations of India, Persia and Central Asia has made it from the very beginning both a crossroads for trade and cultural exchange and an almost continuous battlefield. In the years since the Soviet invasion in 1979 the country has become the stage of an ongoing complex humanitarian emergency. The period of Soviet occupation was characterised by massive human rights violations. The Soviet army and its allies were involved in indiscriminate bombardments and targeted executions, while the mujahedeen were involved in guerrilla warfare. The USSR was forced to withdraw in 1989 and the remnants of Afghanistan's communist regime were defeated in 1992.

Ukraine, at 603 700 km2, has the second largest landmass in Europe. It has a population of about 47.4 million. Ukraine is a lower-middle-income country with a gross national income per capita of US$1260 (World Bank, 2002).

The profound political, social and economic changes that occurred after the end of communist rule in Central Europe in 1989 had a profound influence on Czech psychiatry. In the socialist Czechoslovakia the healthcare system was fully owned, financed and organised by the state, in so-called regional institutes of healthcare. These had obligatory catchment areas of about 100 000 inhabitants and comprised in-patient as well as out-patient care facilities, including psychiatry. The main trends after 1989 were decentralisation of the healthcare system, rapid privatisation, especially of out-patient services, and financing through the newly established health insurance corporations.

There is a pressing need to train psychiatrists in low- and middle-income countries. Psychiatrists from high-income countries have an opportunity to share expertise in teaching and assessing trainees, while learning much in the process. Three trainees from a London psychiatric hospital were invited to help organise a revision course for the Department of Psychiatry, Addis Ababa University, and this paper reports their experiences.

The concern for the mental health of people living in low-resource and industrially developing countries has been blown out of proportion. Economic well-being, as a psychological factor, has a complex association with mental health and may prove to be good or bad for it; after all, mental health in low- and middle-income countries (even with few psychiatrists!) is generally better than it is in high-income countries. Government funding may be low but there are innumerable socio-cultural resources, many more than in most high-income countries. The number of psychiatrists per population may be low but numerous (informal and alternative) mental health services exist, many more popular and even more effective than psychiatry. The healthcare systems are so different that, whereas the average waiting period for a psychiatric patient in the UK may be about 90 days, it is about 90 minutes in India (and all patients are seen the same day). In fact, less than 10% of mental health problems are seen by psychiatrists!