Over 100 cr people worldwide live with mental health disorder, women account for 53 pc: WHO

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) More than 1 crore people globally live with a mental health disorder, and women account for over 53 per cent, according to new data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday.

The WHO reports World Mental Health Today and Mental Health Atlas 2024 stated that conditions such as anxiety and depression inflict immense human and economic tolls and called for greater investment and action to scale up services to protect and promote people’s mental health.

“Transforming mental health services is one of the most pressing public health challenges,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

"Investing in mental health means investing in people, communities, and economies -- an investment no country can afford to neglect. Every government and every leader has a responsibility to act with urgency and to ensure that mental health care is treated not as a privilege, but as a basic right for all,” he added.

The reports showed that anxiety and depressive disorders are the most common types of mental health disorders among both men and women. However, women are disproportionately impacted overall.

Overall, more females (581.5 million) than males (513.9 million) live with a mental disorder.

“Mental disorders were found common among pregnant women and women in the year after birth, often with severe impacts for both mothers and babies. Worldwide, more than 10 per cent of pregnant women and women in the year after birth experience depression. In low- and medium-income countries (LMICs), this figure is estimated to be substantially higher,” the reports said.

Further, the report showed that suicide remains a devastating outcome, claiming an estimated 7,27,000 lives in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death among young people across all countries and socioeconomic contexts, and progress in reducing suicide mortality is too low.

Of the targeted one-third reduction in suicide rates by 2030, only a 12 per cent reduction will be achieved.

Further, the economic impact of mental health disorders due to loss of productivity is also staggering. Depression and anxiety alone cost the global economy an estimated $ 1 trillion each year, the WHO report said.

The 2024 Mental Health Atlas showed that fewer countries have adopted or enforced rights-based mental health legislation, and only 45 per cent of countries evaluated laws in full compliance with international human rights standards.

The report also revealed a concerning stagnation in mental health investment. Median government spending on mental health remains at just 2 per cent of total health budgets -- unchanged since 2017, with low-income countries spending as little as $ 0.04.

The WHO stressed to governments to urgently intensify efforts toward systemic transformation of mental health systems worldwide. This includes equitable financing of mental health services; legal and policy reform to uphold human rights; sustained investment in the mental health workforce; and expansion of community-based, person-centered care.

--IANS

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