The WHO recently reported that nearly 1 BILLION people have a mental disorder.

Being that we’re just coming out of a global pandemic that has been followed by record-breaking inflation and economic distress, this can’t possibly come as a surprise to many.

Only a small % of people in need of help had access to effective, affordable, and quality mental health treatment before the pandemic.

Nearly one billion people around the globe are suffering from some form of mental disorder, according to latest UN data – a staggering figure that is even more worrying, if you consider that it includes around one in seven teenagers.

To make matters worse, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of common conditions such as depression and anxiety, went up by more than 25 percent, the UN health agency (WHO) reported on Friday.

This was the WHO’s largest review of mental health. The World Health Organization has urged more countries to provide assistance with the worsening mental health conditions.

“Everyone’s life touches someone with a mental health condition,” said the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Good mental health translates to good physical health and this new report makes a compelling case for change.

“The inextricable links between mental health and public health, human rights and socioeconomic development mean that transforming policy and practice in mental health can deliver real, substantive benefits for individuals, communities and countries everywhere. Investment into mental health is an investment into a better life and future for all.”

More than 70% of those suffering from psychosis around the globe do not get the help they need, said the UN agency.

The gap between rich and poor nations highlights unequal access to healthcare, as 7 in 10 people with psychosis receive treatment in high-income countries, compared to only 12% in countries with a low average income.

The situation is even worse for cases of depression, WHO said, pointing to gaps in assistance across all countries – including high-income ones – where only one third of people who suffer from depression receive formal mental health care.

And although high-income countries offer “minimally-adequate” treatment for depression in 23 percent of cases, this drops to just three per cent in low and lower middle-income countries.

“We need to transform our attitudes, actions and approaches to promote and protect mental health, and to provide and care for those in need,” said WHO’s Tedros. “We can and should do this by transforming the environments that influence our mental health and by developing community-based mental health services capable of achieving universal health coverage for mental health.”