World Health Organization recently published an article calling attention to a global deficiency of resources for mental health promotion.
Despite the fact that 10 percentof the world’s population suffers from a mental health disorder, only 1 percent of the global health workforce is dedicated to mental health. According to numbers provided by WHO, approximately 80 percent of individuals with severe mental disorders in low and middle-income countries do not receive treatment—that number stands at 40% for high-income countries. This dichotomy is also evident in the $2 per capita spent annually on mental health in low and middle-income countries versus the $50 spent per capita annually in high-income countries.
Despite this large dissimilarity in spending, WHO is not strictly focused on improving mental health funding in lower-income countries. Rather, WHO is dedicated to its global prioritization, having established mental health as a primary priority in its constitution: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Specifically, WHO characterizes the mental aspect of health as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”
As a means to realize this fundamental principal of global mental well-being, WHO adopted the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 in May 2013. The action plan aims to achieve “a world in which mental health is valued, promoted and protected, mental disorders are prevented and persons affected by these disorders are able to exercise the full range of human rights and to access high quality, culturally-appropriate health and social care in a timely way to promote recovery, in order to attain the highest possible level of health and participate fully in society and at work, free from stigmatization and discrimination.”
Specifically, the action plan establishes four primary objectives: the improvement of leadership and governance for mental health, the provision of comprehensive community-based mental health services, the implementation of promotion and prevention strategies for mental health and the strengthening of research and data systems for mental health. The plan also acknowledges the overarching political, economic and cultural factors that can contribute or be detrimental to mental health, such as national policies, quality of life, working conditions and social security.
The plan uses baseline indicators from 2013 to project goals for 2020. These targets include a 20 percent increase in healthcare coverage for mental health services and a 10 percent decrease in the suicide rates of all 135 Member States.
WHO further acknowledges that mental health is not only a priority in its own rite, but also has broader implications for global well-being. For example, the action plan notes evidence that depression predisposes individuals to diabetes and myocardial infarction. Beyond the physical health implications, mental illness can also lead to poverty, homelessness and inappropriate incarceration. Economically, a recent study projected that mental disorders will account for approximately $16.3 million USD in lost economic output between 2011 and 2030.
For these reasons and many more, WHO and its Member States are committed to remedying the scarcity of resources currently designated for mental health and implementing the action plan in order to make a positive change on a global scale.
For more information on WHO’s Mental Health Action Plan, see this article.
