United Nations urged to consider mental health
By Liz Lockhart
This week, global health experts have asked the United Nations General Assembly to devote a special session to mental 
illness and drug abuse. They have said that mental illness and drug abuse can wreak havoc in global societies and economies.
An article in PLoS Medicine says that every country in the world is affected by the burden of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) disorders, but that often sufferers face discrimination and human rights abuse.
The article further stated ‘The time has come for recognition at the highest levels of global development, namely the UN General Assembly, of the urgent need for a global strategy to address the global burden of MNS disorders.’
Vikram Patel from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Judith Bass from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in the U.S. are the lead authors of the report.
They suggest that investment is need in three main areas:
- Expanding knowledge about mental health disorders
- Better access to evidence-based programmes of care and treatment
- Protection of human rights
A ‘People’s Charter’ which would include a list of key needs to be addressed and the steps to take could be the way forward. This charter would require input from policy makers, families, researchers and other advocates.
The article reports that neuropsychiatric disorders will account for the loss of some $16.1 trillion US dollars globally over the next twenty years and also have ‘dramatic impacts on productivity and quality of life.’ This will worsen as the population ages.
The authors note that about 25 million people have dementia worldwide and that this number is set to soar to 80 million by the year 2040. Nearly three quarters of dementia sufferers are concentrated in low and middle income countries.
They also suggest that suicide claims at least one million lives a year and that nearly 4% of all deaths around the world are alcohol related.
The article said ‘Depressive disorders markedly increase the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke and dementia. Conflict, displacement, poverty, gender-based violence, and other social determinants of ill health increase the risk of MNS disorders. MNS disorders are, in turn, associated with worsening of social and economic circumstances, setting up a vicious cycle of poverty and illness’.
In view of the fact that a majority of world governments would need to agree that this issue is sufficiently important to deserve a special session at the UN General Assembly, the authors noted ‘The fact that MNS disorders affect people in all countries should offer considerable incentive for investments by both public and private sectors in this initiative.’
