Global Challenges, WHO Reveals More Than 1 Billion People Experience Mental Disorders

WHO (Photo: Adobe Stock/CURIOS)

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) released the latest data showing that more than 1 billion people worldwide live with mental health disorders. Conditions such as anxiety and depression not only cause great suffering for individuals, but also have a significant impact on the global economy.

Although many countries have strengthened mental health policies and programs, investment and real action still need to be improved so that services can reach more people.

Mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression occur in all countries, regardless of age or economic level. This problem is now the second largest cause of long-term disability, which reduces the quality of life and increases health care costs. In addition, global economic losses due to depression and anxiety are estimated at 1 trillion US dollars or Rp. 16.4 quadrillion per year.

The latest WHO report, World Mental Health Today and Mental Health Atlas 2024 shows progress, but also shows there are still many gaps in the handling of mental health in the world.

According to WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the transformation of mental health services is one of the most pressing public health challenges. He emphasized that investment in this field means investing in humans, communities, and the economy.

"Mental health must be considered as basic rights, not as privilege (special rights)," he said.

The WHO report highlights several important facts regarding mental health in the world. Anxiety and depression disorders are recorded as the most common conditions experienced by society, with women more affected than men.

In addition, suicide is still a serious problem, claiming around 727 thousand lives in 2021 and making it one of the main causes of death among young people. Global targets to reduce the suicide rate by a third by 2030 are also predicted to be difficult to achieve, as with current trends, a possible decline of only about 12%.

On the other hand, mental health service conditions are still facing major challenges. Since 2020, many countries have started to update policies, adopt rights-based approaches, and prepare psychosocial support in emergency situations.

However, the fundamental problem has not been resolved. Funding is still very limited, with an average of only 2% of the total health budget, a stagnant figure since 2017. Inequality is also striking, because high-income countries can allocate up to US $ 65 or Rp. 1 million per person. Meanwhile, low-income countries are only around US $ 0.04 or Rp. 658.

The workforce in the field of mental health is still minimal, with an average of only 13 personnel per 100 thousand population, and much less in developing countries. The model of mental health services is also moving slowly.

Less than 10% of countries have completely switched to community-based services, while most are still dependent on mental hospitals with long-term hospitalizations.

However, there are developments that should be appreciated. More than 80% of the country has now provided mental health support in emergency responses, increasing rapidly from 39% in 2020. In addition, various mental health promotion programs in schools as well as suicide prevention efforts have also been implemented more and more.

Seeing these conditions, WHO emphasized that the world is still far from the target in the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan. Therefore, this organization calls on governments and global partners to immediately accelerate the transformation of the mental health system with concrete steps.

Some of them are ensuring fairer financing, carrying out legal reforms and policies that ensure human rights, increasing sustainable investment in mental health workers, and expanding individual-centered community-based services.