A mental health crisis could cost the world 16 billion dollars by 2030

LONDON: Mental disorders are increasing in all countries of the world and could cost up to $ 16 trillion to the global economy between 2010 and 2030 if no collective failure to react has been solved. , according to an expert report released Tuesday.

The "Lancet Commission" report written by 28 world experts in psychiatry, public health and neuroscience, as well as mental health patients and advocacy groups, said the growing crisis could cause lasting harm to people , communities and economies around the world.

While some of the costs include the direct costs of health care and drugs or other therapies, most are indirect – in the form of lost productivity and spending on social protection, education, and maintenance. Order, the main author of the report, Vikram Patel told me.

The far – reaching report did not give a breakdown of the potential economic impact estimated at $ 16 trillion, estimated by him by 2030.

"The situation is extremely bleak," Patel, a professor at Harvard Medical School in the United States, told reporters.

He added that the burden of mental illness has increased "dramatically" in the world over the past 25 years, in part because of the aging of society and the growing number of children surviving the disease. ;adolescence. Yet, "no country is investing enough" to tackle this problem.

"No other health condition in humanity has been neglected as much as mental health," Patel said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression and 50 million dementias. It is estimated that schizophrenia affects 23 million people and bipolar disorder about 60 million.

The Lancet Report found that in many countries, people with common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia regularly suffer gross human rights violations – including obstructions and acts of torture. and prison sentences.

Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal The Lancet, who commissioned the report, said the report highlighted the "shameful and shocking treatment of people with mental disorders around the world."

He called for a human rights-based approach to ensure that people with mental health problems are not deprived of their basic rights, including access to employment. , to education and other basic life experiences.

It also recommended an overall shift to community-based mental health care with psychosocial treatments such as speech therapies offered not only by health professionals but also by community health workers, peers, teachers and clergy.

The report was released ahead of the first global ministerial summit on mental health to be held in London this week.