In addition, there are large inequities across regions and income groups of countries, with low-income countries having extremelyFostering cooperation among scientific and pro-fessional groups that contribute to the advancement of health is one of the key constitutional responsibilities of the World Health Organization (WHO) (1). In order to fulfil its constitutional obligation, WHO has been collaborating with numerous governmental and nongovernmental organizations and launched a number of international projects that helped health professionals and policy-makers prioritize health needs and design evidence-based health programmes all over the world.One of the most remarkable collaborative endeavours was the Global Burden of Disease study, which was a result of the coordinated effort of WHO, the World Bank and Harvard School of Public Health. The Global Burden of Disease report drew the attention of the international health community to the fact that the burden of mental and neurological disorders had been seriously underestimated by traditional epidemio-logical methods that took into account only mortality, not dis-ability rates. This report specifically showed that while mental and neurological disorders are responsible for about 1%of deaths, they account for almost 11% of disease burden worldwide (2).As the world became aware of the massive burden associated with mental and neurological disorders, it also recognized that the resources and services for these disorders were dis-proportionately scarce, particularly in developing countries. Furthermore, there has been a large body of evidence show-ing that, in the years to come, policy-makers and health-care providers in developed and developing countries alike may be unprepared to cope with the predicted rise of the prevalence of mental and neurological disorders and the disability associ-ated with them. In order to respond to this worrisome fact, in 2001 WHO coordinated a large international project aimed at collecting, compiling and disseminating information and data on the existing resources and services for people suf-fering from mental disorders. This project was carried out by WHO headquarters and involved all six WHO regional offices as well as 191 WHO Member States. The main outcome of the project was the publication of the Atlas: Mental Health Resources in the World (http://www.who.int/mental_health/ evidence/atlas/) that mapped mental health services around the world and provided a snapshot of the situation on the ground regarding this important public health matter (3)Over the years, WHO programmes, projects and activities in the areas of mental and neurological disorders have been closely linked. Many such disorders are chronic and progres-sive in nature and fulfil criteria to be recognized as a global public health problem; moreover, they are frequent and disabling, and they represent a significant burden on com-munities and societies all over the world. The extension of life expectancy and the ageing of the general populations in both developed and developing countries are likely to increase the prevalence of many chronic and progressive physical and mental conditions, including neurological disorders. However, the increasing capacity of modern medicine to prevent death, and the development of new, more effective treatments have changed the frequency and severity of impairment attributable to neurological disorders and raised the issue of restoring or creating life of acceptable quality for people who suffer from their consequences.In order to increase professional and public awareness of the frequency, severity and costs of neurological disorders and to emphasize the need for provision of neurological care at all levels including primary health care, over the past decade WHO launched a number of global public health projects including the Global Initiative on Neurology and Public Health(4). The outcomes of this large international endeavour, which involved health professionals in numerous countries all over the world, clearly indicated that there was a paucity of infor-mation on the prevalence of neurological disorders as well as a lack of policies, programmes and resources for their treat-ment and management.In view of these findings and in order to fill the information gap in the area of neurological disorders and services, in 2001 WHO decided to expand the Atlas Project into the area of neu-rology and to conduct a study of Country Resources for Neuro-logical Disorders. The main objectives of this large international study were to obtain the following expert information: the most common neurological conditions and their distri-bution in primary care and specialist settings; availability of neurological procedures, treatments and services;number and types of health professionals involved in the delivery of neurological care;characteristics of postgraduate teaching in neurology;budget for and financing of neurological care, including the types of health insurance and disability benefits; availability, role and involvement of national neurological associations and other nongovernmental organizations in advocacy to raise public and professional awareness of neu-rological disorders and their participation in the treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of neurological disorders.The study of Country Resources for Neurological Disorders represents a unique collaborative effort, which involved WHO headquarters and regional offices and the World Federa-tion of Neurology (WFN). Although launched under severe staff and budgetary constraints in both WHO and WFN, the project created much enthusiasm and mobilized more than 100 WHO Member States and WFN member societies. The main outcome of the project is the present Atlas of Country Resources for Neurological Disorders (the Neurology Atlas), which provides an illustrative presentation of data and infor-mation on the current status of neurological services and neurological care in different parts of the world.