Antonio Guterres launched the ‘World Mental Health Report 2022’. (Proceedings)
New York:
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday against a “global mental health crisis” as he released a report on mental health.
“We are living through a global mental health crisis,” the senior UN official said in his video message to launch the World Mental Health Report 2022: Transforming Mental Health for All.
Guterres said nearly a billion people worldwide, including millions of children and young people, “have a mental health condition,” adding that most of them lack access to treatment.
“Services may be unavailable or unaffordable. Stigma also prevents people from seeking help,” he said.
Guterres said that people with mental health conditions are at higher risk of physical and emotional abuse, denial of education and employment, and other human rights violations. “The costs, both human and financial, are enormous. Depression and anxiety alone cost the global economy an estimated US$1 trillion per year.”
Addressing the factors that have made the situation worse, Guterres said that while the COVID-19 pandemic has increased mental health problems, it has also led to a much greater understanding of the importance and fragility of good mental health.
“Unfortunately, in most countries, mental health remains the most neglected area of health policy,” the secretary-general warned.
Commenting on the report prepared by the World Health Organization, Mr. Guterres said that the report is a roadmap to guide countries to improve their mental health systems.
“It highlights where improvement is needed and how it can be achieved, starting in childhood and continuing through all stages of life. It sets out ways to reduce risks, build resilience and dismantle barriers that prevent people with problems of mental health participate fully in society,” he said.
“I recommend it to governments and mental health stakeholders everywhere,” the secretary-general said.
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