The recommended World Health Organization ideal ratio for psychiatrists in the population is 1:10,000. In Malaysia, the ratio is one psychiatrist for about 68,000 people. We cannot possibly achieve the required number of psychiatrists in the short term. Additionally, private psychiatric facilities are concentrated mainly in highly urban areas.

Whether they serve as company panel doctors or family physicians, general practitioners can significantly contribute to our country's mental health landscape. By enhancing their capacity for mental health, they can play a more active and positive role. Government Primary Health Clinics should also consider scaling up their services to meet the increasing demand. This approach reduces the burden on specialist psychiatrist services and allows them to focus on more severe cases.

Scaling up services through this Certificate Course in Mental Health is the solution to meeting society's mental health demands. While this is a novel initiative in Malaysia, similar capacity-building initiatives have been successfully implemented in many countries. The Malaysian Society for Academic Psychiatry is pleased to take up this challenge, with the first cohort of 50 doctors graduating from this Course in October 2024.

• Fully registered medical practitioners/GPs
• Retired medical practitioners with valid APC 
• Doctors in government service who plan to go into general practice