This chapter traces the origin and background of modern global mental health and sketches its domain. A primary objective of global health and mental health is the eradication of disparities in terms of access to care, quality of life, and well-being worldwide. Dorothea Dix and Clifford Beers contributed immensely to global mental health and had experiences of mental illness, making their contribution more instructive. Currently, membership in the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) is open to individuals, users and survivors, and mental health and disability societies. The World Health Organization (WHO) played a vital role in several aspects of mental health worldwide. The future of global health and mental health is likely to be influenced by a variety of driving factors. One of these is activism. The concerns of global mental health focus on the most needy communities, in the low- and middle-income countries, but the vision is worldwide.