Today Is World Mental Health Day: The WHO is working to ensure "Mental Health & Well-Being Becomes a Global Priority For All"
October 10, 2022 10:02 am
Photo: WHO | Columbia County Observer graphic
The World — The World Health Organization (WHO), on this year's 2022 World Mental Day, is promoting “making mental health & well-being a global priority for all.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic has and continues to take its toll on the world’s mental health, the ability to reconnect through World Mental Health Day 2022 will provide all an opportunity to rekindle efforts to protect and improve mental health.
Many aspects of mental health have been challenged.
Before
the pandemic in 2019, an estimated one in eight
people globally was living with a mental
disorder. The services, skills, and funding
available for mental health remain in short
supply and fall far below what is needed,
especially in low and middle-income countries.
The WHO emphasizes, “The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis for mental health, fueling short- and long-term stresses and undermining the mental health of millions. Estimates put the rise in anxiety and depressive disorders at more than 25% during the first year of the pandemic. At the same time, mental health services have been severely disrupted, and the treatment gap for mental health conditions has widened.”
“Growing social and economic inequalities, protracted conflicts, violence, and public health emergencies affect populations worldwide, threatening progress toward improved well-being.”
According to WHO, a staggering 84 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced in 2021. The world community must deepen the value and commitment it gives to mental health as individuals, communities, and governments and match that value with more commitment, engagement, and investment by all stakeholders across all sectors.
The Who said, “We must strengthen mental health care so that the full spectrum of mental health needs is met through a community-based network of accessible, affordable quality services and supports.”
Stigma and discrimination continue to hinder social inclusion and mental health care access. We can all play our part in increasing awareness about which preventive mental health interventions work, and World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to do that collectively.
The WHO envisions a world where mental health is valued, promoted, and protected. A world where everyone can access the mental health care they need. A world where everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy mental health and exercise their human rights.
This year, WHO will work with partners to launch a campaign around the theme of “Making Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority.”
WHO believes, “This will be an opportunity for people with mental health conditions, advocates, governments, employers, employees, and other stakeholders to come together to recognize progress in this field and to be vocal about what we need to do to ensure Mental Health & Well-Being becomes a Global Priority for all.”
