Nearly 450 million people worldwide suffer from some form of mental illness, but more than half of worlds countries do not have any type of government sponsored program or health policy to deal with the increase of brain disorders.

Health care systems in developing countries have paid relatively little attention to brain disorders rather, focusing mainly on communicable diseases. Poverty can play a major role in the overall health of people. Some factors through which poverty most likely contributes to brain disorders are malnutrition, lack of access to healthcare, poor hygienic living conditions, impure water etc.. These situations can lead to infectious disease such as cerebral malaria, neurocysticercosis, and Japanese encephalitis.