For decades, health emergencies have been synonymous with outbreaks, natural disasters, and threats encountered through visible means. Presently, however, one of the most pressing global health emergencies is, in contrast, less visible and equally catastrophic: mental health. For many decades now, depression, anxiety, and suicide rates are rising across the globe. Meanwhile, governments and health systems worldwide are rushing to grapple with an issue that is as complicated as it is all-consuming.
The World Health Organization estimates that one in eight people worldwide has a mental health disorder. As alarming as that statistic is, adolescents and young people have been particularly hit hard. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified feelings of isolation, uncertainty, and fear and exacerbated how quickly mental health issues have escalated. According to UNICEF, 90% of young people needing mental health support in low- and middle-income countries do not receive it. Ultimately, millions are left to cope alone.
The lack of access to care poses the greatest challenge. Stigma and long wait times have restricted access in high-income countries. For low-income countries the lack of access is more pronounced: there are less than two mental-health workers per 100,000 people (on average). Cultural stigma sometimes is also another reason for silence about mental well-being and avoidance of treatment.
Programs are being developed to address the crisis. WHO has developed a Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan and calls on countries to consider mental health as part of primary healthcare and expand community-based care and funding for community services. Digital tools have been useful, with some recent teletherapy apps able to reach young adults, and help fill some gaps. But, experts caution that technology on its own is not enough. Unless mental health is considered to be part of the health system and investment takes place in trained professionals and community in order to support them, the crisis risk magnifying.
Mental health is frequently referred to as the “silent pandemic,” but silence can no longer be tolerated. If the world can stand shoulder to shoulder to DE-stigmatize COVID-19 — and put mental well-being on the global public health agenda, we can also de-stigmatize mental well-being as a public health priority. Combating stigma, constructing accessible care networks and funding mental health might not be optional anymore — it is imperative. Mental health is not just an invisible emergency; left unchallenged it will define the health, productivity and (the future) of a generation.
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