The proportion of government health budgets spent on mental health has remained virtually unchanged over the past few years, still hovering around 2%.
It is estimated that less than 50% of people globally still have access to care for specific mental health problems, with an average of 40% for depression and only 29% for psychosis.
Encouragingly, the proportion of countries reporting having a mental health promotion and prevention plan has increased, from 41% in 2014 to 52% in 2020. However, 31% of all plans reported by countries did not have dedicated human and financial resources, 27% did not have a clear plan and 39% did not have documented evidence of progress.
Statistics show a slight increase in the average number of mental health workers per 100,000 population globally, from 9 in 2014 to 13 in 2020. However, there are significant differences between countries at different income levels, with the number of mental health workers in high-income countries more than 40 times higher than in low-income countries.
The Mental Health Atlas is published every three years and summarises data from countries around the world on mental health policies, regulations, financing, human resources, service delivery and utilization, and data collection systems. It also constitutes a mechanism for monitoring progress towards the goals of the WHO Integrated Mental Health Action Plan.
This latest report shows that in 2020, only 51% of WHO's 194 Member States indicate that their mental health policies or plans are in line with international and regional human rights instruments, which is well below the 80% target. At the same time only 52% of countries have met the targets related to mental health promotion and prevention planning, also well below the 80% target. The only 2020 target that was met was a 10% reduction in suicide rates, but even then only 35 countries indicated that they had a stand-alone prevention strategy, policy or plan in place.
The proportion of countries that have included treatment for several mental illnesses in national health insurance or reimbursement schemes has increased, from 73% in 2017 to 80% by 2020, the report says.
Globally, up to 20% of adolescents suffer from a mental illness. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-19 year olds globally. Approximately 15% of adolescents in low- and middle-income countries have had suicidal thoughts.
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