The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged all countries to invest more in mental healthaffirming that “the suffering is enormous” and that it has increased with the covid pandemic.
Even before covid-19, nearly 1 billion people were living with a mental disorder, the UN agency said in a report on the state of the world’s mental health.
In the first year of the pandemic alone, rates of depression and anxiety rose by a quarterat a time when scarce health resources were concentrated on fighting the virus.
Only 2% of national health budgets and less than 1% of all international aid is dedicated to mental health, the WHO report highlighted.
“All of these numbers are very, very low,” said Mark Van Ommeren of the WHO’s mental health division. at a press conference.
Van Ommeren noted that there has never been so much interest in mental health, but investment has not gone up.
The official stressed that the report emphasizes that throughout the world “the suffering is enormous.”
According to this count, one in eight people in the world lives with a mental illness.
This reality is made worse for people living in conflict zones, where one in five suffer from a disorder.
Van Ommeren pointed out that young people, women and people who already suffered from mental health problems were affected more strongly by covid and the restrictions to curb the pandemic.
The “World Report on Mental Health” also highlights the gaps in access to care between different countries.
In high-income nations, more than 70% of people suffering from a psychosis receive treatment, compared to 12% in low-income countries, the WHO official said.
The report calls for an end to the stigma associated with mental illness, highlighting that there are 20 countries in which attempted suicide is criminalized.
He also said that although one in 20 suicide attempts ends in death, it is still the cause of more than one in 100 deaths worldwide.
The WHO cites in the report the case of Enoch Li, from China, who said she “used to look down on people who wanted to commit suicide” until severe depression led her to attempt it.
“I was moments away from dying,” she said, noting that her boyfriend saved her. “The moment I understood that depression and anxiety can affect anyone and that it doesn’t make us any less as a person, then I opened myself to the fact that I needed others to help me to be myself again,” she said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged all countries to invest more in mental healthaffirming that “the suffering is enormous” and that it has increased with the covid pandemic.
Even before covid-19, nearly 1 billion people were living with a mental disorder, the UN agency said in a report on the state of the world’s mental health.
In the first year of the pandemic alone, rates of depression and anxiety rose by a quarterat a time when scarce health resources were concentrated on fighting the virus.
Only 2% of national health budgets and less than 1% of all international aid is dedicated to mental health, the WHO report highlighted.
“All of these numbers are very, very low,” said Mark Van Ommeren of the WHO’s mental health division. at a press conference.
Van Ommeren noted that there has never been so much interest in mental health, but investment has not gone up.
The official stressed that the report emphasizes that throughout the world “the suffering is enormous.”
According to this count, one in eight people in the world lives with a mental illness.
This reality is made worse for people living in conflict zones, where one in five suffer from a disorder.
Van Ommeren pointed out that young people, women and people who already suffered from mental health problems were affected more strongly by covid and the restrictions to curb the pandemic.
The “World Report on Mental Health” also highlights the gaps in access to care between different countries.
In high-income nations, more than 70% of people suffering from a psychosis receive treatment, compared to 12% in low-income countries, the WHO official said.
The report calls for an end to the stigma associated with mental illness, highlighting that there are 20 countries in which attempted suicide is criminalized.
He also said that although one in 20 suicide attempts ends in death, it is still the cause of more than one in 100 deaths worldwide.
The WHO cites in the report the case of Enoch Li, from China, who said she “used to look down on people who wanted to commit suicide” until severe depression led her to attempt it.
“I was moments away from dying,” she said, noting that her boyfriend saved her. “The moment I understood that depression and anxiety can affect anyone and that it doesn’t make us any less as a person, then I opened myself to the fact that I needed others to help me to be myself again,” she said.
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