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20-10-2023
Multiplying and escalating crises are placing ever greater strains on people’s mental health and the services available to support them. From the lingering effects of COVID-19, the uptick in climate-related emergencies and the ongoing impacts of conflict and displacement in many regions, more and more people are suffering. Meanwhile, stigma and discrimination against people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities continue in our schools, workplaces and communities.
With as many as one billion people, one in eight of us living with a mental health condition, and a persistent history of under-investment in mental health services, the gap between the need for and availability of quality care and support can be expected to widen further. This will have predictable consequences for the health, happiness and wellbeing of millions of people.
COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities in mental health systems worldwide, exacerbating existing issues and revealing new ones. In Chile, as in many countries, the pandemic’s toll on mental health has been significant. Isolation, uncertainty and disruptions to daily life took a toll on individuals and communities, highlighting the importance of resilient support systems.
Given all that has happened this century, we must transform how we think and act on mental health to advance it for the better. We need to change our attitudes so that mental health is prioritized as an integral part of our health and wellbeing, as well as a basic human right and a critical contributor to public health, social wellbeing, and sustainable development.
We must strengthen the delivery of mental healthcare services so that the full spectrum of mental health needs is met through a community-based network of accessible, affordable, and quality services and support.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is working side by side with countries to achieve this. WHO’s Special Initiative for Mental Health is a good example of how scaling up capacity at the primary healthcare level can improve access to services for the people who need them most. Since 2019, the Special Initiative for Mental Health has extended access to local mental health services, where previously there were none, to 40 million people across nine participating countries.
While the health sector has much to contribute, it cannot do this alone. As discussed by ministers at the Global Summit on Mental Health hosted by the government of Argentina earlier this month, transforming mental healthcare calls for a whole-of-government and whole-of society approach to mental health promotion, protection and care. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
