By: Muhammad Ismail Khalid Yousaf
A month designated to combat the stigma and taboo surrounding the critical issue of mental health by promoting understanding, education, and advocacy. However, one should argue that the impact of illnesses associated with mental health should be highlighted year-round, every month, every day, and at every workspace.
As a society, being cognizant of the dilemmas surrounding mental health is essential not only for individuals and families challenged with mental health disorders but also for anyone who needs to know that they are not alone and have a support system that will look after their well-being if similar issues challenge them.
The World Health Organization has categorized Pakistan as a Lower Middle Income (LMI) country. According to the WHO’s Mental Health Atlas 2020, there were 10.8 mental hospital beds and 71.8 admissions per 100,000 population globally in 2020. LMI countries had significantly lower figures, with only 3.8 mental hospital beds and 34.5 admissions per 100,000 population. Additionally, high-income countries reported having more than 15 psychiatric beds per 100,000 population, while low-income countries had fewer than 0.4 psychiatric beds per 100,000 population. It is also alarming to note that while 92% of high-income countries reported that more than 50% of mental health inpatients received timely diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up for physical health conditions, only 25% of low-income countries reported the same. With Anxiety and Depression being top illnesses.
If that doesn’t stir the medical system up, let it sink in that 77% of global suicides in 2019 occurred in low- and middle-income countries.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) reported in 2019 that approximately 1 in every 8 individuals, or 970 million people globally, were living with a mental disorder. To put in context, if a group of 24 individuals were assembled, 3 of them would likely be challenged with a mental illness that adversely affects their quality of life and might even prevent them from attending the gathering. These statistics are both troubling and underscore the need for a more profound comprehension of the underlying causes of mental health issues, which encompass but are not limited to childhood abuse, social isolation, discrimination, racism, eating disorders and debt.
As a global society, we should be enablers of support systems and not just distant observers till something tragic happens to any individual. Mental health advocates are doing an exceptional job worldwide, but we are far from having the necessary resources and enough advocates to address this issue adequately.
Good, no, Excellent, and unequivocal quality of mental health is a basic right that should be provided to all individuals regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, age, or socioeconomic status. It is a right that we are all born with, and we should have the resources and a stigma-free world to exercise at arm’s length. And for that, it’s imperative to implement WHO’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030.
The writer is a distinguished Headache Medicine Fellow and advocate at Dell Medical School, UT Austin. Specializing in tension-type headaches, he brings expertise and dedication to advancing awareness and patient care in the field of headache medicine. He can be reached at [email protected]
