Laura Poy Solano
Newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, April 27, 2022, p. 3
With a 25 percent increase in the prevalence of depression and anxiety during the covid-19 pandemic in the world, mental health will be a priority in the coming years. Curbing the high rates of suicide, particularly in adolescents, as well as the escalation of aggression and violence in men, should be a priority for governments, specialists warned.
They highlighted that the most recent data from the World Mental Health Atlas of the World Health Organization (WHO) warn of the need, not only to allocate more resources, but also to increase actions to guarantee the prevention and timely care of mental illnesses .
At the inauguration of the Innovation Week 2022. The transformation of the health sector: Contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, they indicated that a deficit of specialized personnel prevails, since it is estimated that worldwide there are only 13 mental health workers for every 100 thousand inhabitants, a figure that is lower in developing countries.
Elena Media Mora, director of the Faculty of Psychology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, stressed that there are multiple challenges faced. Added to the shortage of psychiatrists in the country is their high concentration in the country’s large cities. She cited the case of Chiapas, which has less than one psychiatrist for every 100,000 inhabitants, a figure that rises to 33 in Mexico City.
He recognized that there are reforms to the sector, but without allocation of resources.
