Mental health, a global imperative

For years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the need to prioritize mental health care through strategic proposals that incorporate a public health approach focused on promotion, prevention, and treatment, emphasizing early intervention before adulthood and combating stigma, discrimination, and social exclusion. Are these strategies achieving the response that society expects and needs?

Mental health disorders affect millions of people worldwide. WHO data reveals that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental disorder at some point in their lives. However, relatively few people globally have access to quality mental health services. In developing countries, for example, between 75% and 85% of the affected population receives no care at all.

First-hand activism, the world of mental health advocacy, and its representatives are calling for a change that goes beyond how we understand treatment and care. Recovery models must address resilience, individual and community resources and capabilities, social inclusion, rights-based care, and advance care planning.