A new report on mental health released today revealed that mental disorders are on the rise in every country in the world.
According to the report released by the Lancet Commission, mental illness will cost the global economy $16 trillion by 2030. The economic cost is primarily due to early onset of mental illness and lost productivity, with an estimated 12 billion working days lost due to mental illness every year.
The Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development brought together 28 global experts in psychiatry, public health, neuroscience and advocacy, as well as people with first-hand experience of mental health conditions.
Launched at the Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit in London, the report recommends that mental health be reframed as a fundamental human right, and that the definition be expanded to promote mental well-being, prevent mental health problems, and enable recovery from mental disorders.
“Mental health is often neglected and underfunded, even though nearly 2 billion people suffer from mental illness every year,” said Lancet report co-author Dr. Janice Cooper, who leads the Carter Center’s mental health work in Liberia.
“Our work in Liberia shows us that that we need to begin with young people and train teachers to identify and refer students for help. We have seen substantial progress working with the Liberian government to ramp up mental health care services in every county, including school-based clinics in more than 20 schools and services in 14 prisons.”
The report shows that in many countries, people with mental disorders still routinely suffer gross human rights violations – including shackling, torture, and imprisonment. Bringing attention to these kinds of abuse and discrimination, the Commission calls for a human rights-based approach to ensure that people with mental health conditions are not denied any of their fundamental human rights – not just to health but also to employment and education, among others.
The report was launched during the first Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit, hosted by the UK Government’s Department of Health in London.
As young people face the brunt of the global burden of mental illnesses, the report places great emphasis on experiences in childhood and adolescence, which shape life-long mental health.
“We’ve seen a rise in mental illness in young people when, with all the knowledge we have, we should be seeing a decrease,” said Professor Helen Herrman, President of the World Psychiatric Association. “Treatment in hospitals needs to be complemented by care in the communities to bring mental health services to the masses”.