There is no health without mental health. Mental disorders are major contributors
to illness and premature death, and are responsible for 13 percent of the global disease
burden. With the global economic downturn – and associated austerity measures – the
risks for mental ill-health are rising around the globe. ~ UN Secretary General
New figures from the WHO Mental Health Atlas 2011 indicate that while the need for mental health care is large, with up to 25% of the population requiring it at some point in their lives, there is underinvestment in the sector.
World Mental Health Day raises public awareness about mental health issues. The day promotes open discussion of mental disorders, and investments in prevention, promotion and treatment services. The treatment gap for mental, neurological and substance use disorders is formidable especially in poor resource countries.
This year the theme is “Investing in mental health”. Financial and human resources allocated for mental health are inadequate especially in low resource countries. The majority of low- and middle-income countries spend less than 2% of their health budget on mental health.
Many countries have less than one mental health specialist per one million population. Even a considerable part of the limited resources is spent on large mental hospitals and not for services delivered through community and primary health care.
We need to increase investment for mental health and to shift the available resources towards more effective and more humanitarian forms of services.
