All over the world, people’s mental health have been greatly impacted by the resultant effect of lockdowns, social restrictions and regulations, and human and economic losses brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Particularly affected are groups that include health and other frontline workers, students, individuals living alone, and those with pre-existing mental health conditions. This is further compounded by significant disruptions in services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders. This is affirmed by the findings of the World Federation for Mental Health that puts the proportion of people with mental disorders who are unable to access mental health services at all in low and middle-income countries at between 75-95 per cent.
Also, lack of investment in mental health evidenced by the disproportionate allocation to the overall health budget of countries contributes to the mental health treatment gap.
In addition, this global rupture has brought to the fore the stark inequalities (suffered by people due to poverty, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and human rights violations) in our society when it comes to accessing healthcare for mental health conditions.
We therefore encourage governments and institutions from around the world to scale up quality mental health services at all levels and devise new effective ways of providing mental health care to their populations, without leaving anyone behind.
Let’s make mental health care a reality for all.
Happy World Mental Health Day!
#worldmentalhealthday #worldmentalhealthday2021 #mentalhealth
Grand Challenges Canada World Health Organization
