Move for mental health: let’s invest

This year’s World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The past months have brought many challenges: for health-care workers, providing care in difficult circumstances, going to work fearful of bringing COVID-19 home with them; for students, adapting to taking classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends, and anxious about their futures; for workers whose livelihoods are threatened; for the vast number of people caught in poverty or in fragile humanitarian settings with extremely limited protection from COVID-19; and for people with mental health conditions, many experiencing even greater social isolation than before. And this is to say nothing of managing the grief of losing a loved one, sometimes without being able to say goodbye.

The economic consequences of the pandemic are already being felt, as companies let staff go in an effort to save their businesses, or indeed shut down completely.

Given past experience of emergencies, it is expected that the need for mental health and psychosocial support will substantially increase in the coming months and years. Investment in mental health programmes at the national and international levels, which have already suffered from years of chronic underfunding, is now more important than it has ever been.

This is why the goal of this year’s World Mental Health Day campaign is increased investment in mental health.

What means investing in mental health?

Join the campaign

The campaign, co-designed by the World Health Organization, United for Global Mental Health and the World Federation for Mental Health, builds on the concept that, while mental health has been receiving increasing global attention in recent years, the field has not received commensurate investment.

This campaign offers opportunities for all of us to do something life-affirming: as individuals, to take concrete actions in support of our own mental health, and to support friends and family who are struggling; as employers, to take steps towards putting programmes in place for employee wellness; as governments, to commit to establishing or scaling-up mental health services; and as journalists, to tell the world what more can and must be done to make mental health a reality for everyone.

Given the recommendations for physical distancing in place in countries throughout the world, the main campaign activities organized by WHO and partners will take place online.

Similarly we encourage organizers of activities for World Mental Health Day to organize online activities when possible. When in-person activities are held, it is important that measures are in place, in line with national and local authority regulations, for physical distancing and prevention of infection.

Key messages

Close to one billion people have a mental disorder and anyone, anywhere, can be affected.
Depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents and adults.
1 in 5 children and adolescents has a mental disorder.
People with severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia tend to die 10-20 years earlier than the general population.
Suicide is claiming the lives of close to 800 000 people every year ̶ 1 person every 40 seconds ̶- and is the second leading cause of death for young people aged 15-29 years.

Despite the universal nature and the magnitude of mental ill health, the gap between demand for mental health services and supply remains substantial.
Relatively few people around the world have access to quality mental health services.
In low- and middle-income countries, more than 75% of people with mental health conditions receive no treatment for their condition at all.
The serious gaps that still exist in mental health care are a result of chronic under-investment over many decades in mental health promotion, prevention and care.
Stigma, discrimination and human rights abuses of people with mental health conditions remain widespread.

The lost productivity resulting from depression and anxiety, two of the most common mental disorders, costs the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year.

On average, countries spend less than 2% of their national health budgets on mental health.
Despite an increase of development assistance for mental health in recent years, it has never exceeded 1% of development assistance for health.

Some of the most common mental health conditions, depression and anxiety, can be treated with talking therapies, medication, or a combination of these.
For every US$ 1 invested in scaled-up treatment for depression and anxiety, there is a return of US$ 5.
For every US$ 1 invested in evidence-based treatment for drug dependence, there is a return of up to US$ 7 in reduced crime and criminal justice costs.
Generalist health workers can be trained to diagnose and treat mental health conditions.
Regular health checks of people with severe mental disorders can prevent premature death.
The quality of life of people living with conditions such as autism and dementia can be greatly improved when their caregivers receive appropriate training.
The rights of people living with mental health conditions can be protected and promoted through mental health legislation, policy, development of affordable, quality community-based mental health services and the involvement of people with lived experience.

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The Big Event for Mental Health

10 October de 2020

The Big Event on Mental Health

10 October 2020

On World Mental Health Day, 10 October, the World Health Organization will, for the first time ever, host a global online advocacy event on mental health. At this event—the Big Event for Mental Health—world leaders, mental health experts and celebrity guests will join WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to tell the world what we can all do to improve our mental health and how we can help make sure that quality mental health care is available to everyone who needs it.

During the event, which will be streamed live on major social media channels, you will:

learn how WHO, together with our partners, is helping improve the mental health of people in countries throughout the world;
hear from national and international leaders about why they are making mental health a priority;
hear first-hand why internationally-renowned artists have become mental health advocates and listen to their advice for those who are struggling; and
listen to critically-acclaimed musicians perform some of their most popular music.

In the lead-up to World Mental Health Day and the Big Event, we will invite you to join the campaign, sharing messages, creating posts showing how you invest in your own mental health, and asking your questions of special guests through live Q and A sessions on social media.

How to watch the Big Event

Tune in from one of WHO’s social media channels:

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok channels

Start time: 10:00 New York, 16:00 Geneva, 19:30 New Delhi

The Event is expected to last three hours.

Host and participants

Award-winning journalist, Femi Oke, will host the event. She will be joined by mental health advocates and performers including:

Cynthia Germanotta: President and Co-Founder (with her daughter Lady Gaga) of Born This Way Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Mental Health
Alisson Becker: goalkeeper for Liverpool Football Club and the Brazilian National Football Team and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Health Promotion
Natália Loewe Becker: medical doctor and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Health Promotion
Talinda Bennington: widow of Linkin Park lead vocalist Chester Bennington and founding partner of the mental health advocacy organization 320 Changes Direction
Klas Bergling: father of DJ, musician and producer Tim “Avicii” Bergling and Co-founder of the Tim Bergling Foundation.
Korede Bello: Nigerian singer and songwriter
Jonny Benjamin: mental health campaigner, film producer and public speaker

Also participating will be national and international leaders who have championed mental health in their own countries:

Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
Epsy Campbell Barr, First Vice-President of Costa Rica
Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, the Netherlands
Peter Sands: Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Muhammad Ali Pate: Global Director, Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank

24-hour March for Mental Health

On 9 October, mental health activists around the world will join a March for Mental Health organized by the nongovernmental organization, United for Global Mental Health. A 24-hour Facebook livestream will feature content from expert voices, people with lived experience and influencers around the world. Listen and be inspired by the dedication of civil society campaigners from 19 countries as they seek to increase awareness of mental health issues, break down stigma and bring about increased investment.

Tips for organizing an activity

Organizing an activity or event is a great way to raise awareness and stimulate action, among individuals, and on a wider scale. If you decide to organize an event, keep in mind the following:

What are you trying to achieve?
Who are you targeting?
What would make your target audiences want to participate?
Should you join up with other organizations?
Who will you invite? Are there any well-known figures who could help you achieve your goals?
Do you have the resources to achieve your goals? If not, how can you mobilize them?
How will you promote your event?
Can the media help you achieve your goals? If so, which media should you target?
How will you share information about your activities after the event?
How will you measure success?

What can this campaign change?

A historic opportunity exists to place mental health high on the global agenda. Even before COVID-19, mental health was gaining traction among global development priorities. This campaign will build on this momentum, subsequently leading to more active engagement, commitment and investment in mental health, at the individual, national and international levels.

NEWS