Tuesday marks the World Health Organization’s thirty-first annual World Mental Health Day.
WHO recognized the first World Mental Health Day in 1992 to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world.
“Mental health is a universal human right” is this year's theme with the goal of improving knowledge, raising awareness, and driving actions that protect mental health as a human right, WHO said in a Tuesday press release.
“Mental health is a basic human right for all people. Everyone, whoever and wherever they are, has a right to the highest attainable standard of mental health,” the release said.
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One in eight people globally live with mental health conditions — and depression is one of the leading causes of disability, according to WHO.
Despite WHO’s recent efforts, including a coordinated effort to provide mental health care in over 110 countries, people continue to suffer due to poor mental health.
According to the 2022 “World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all,” family, community, sociocultural, geopolitical, and environmental factors often determine a person’s mental health.
“In all countries, it is the poorest and most disadvantaged in society who are at greater risk of mental ill-health and who are also the least likely to receive adequate services,” the report said. That risk increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a part of this year’s theme, WHO is calling for increased access to education, income generation, housing opportunities and social support to combat the mental health crisis.
WHO said World Mental Health Day gives people an opportunity to ensure they are aware of their right to mental health and to stand up for “what’s right - for you and for others.”
