WHO's Mental Health Atlas 2017 reveals that although some countries have made progress in mental health policy-making and planning, there is a global shortage of health workers trained in mental health and a lack of investment in community-based mental health facilities. This latest edition of the Mental Health Atlas provides us with yet more evidence that scale-up of resources for mental health is not happening quickly enough. The Atlas provides information on the existence of policies, plans and laws for mental health, and their alignment with established human rights instruments; the human and financial resources available; the type of facilities providing care; and mental health programmes for prevention and promotion.