Mental health is one of the biggest global health crises of our time and the numbers are staggering.
In this episode, we unpack new findings from the World Health Organization based on two major reports: World Mental Health Today and Mental Health Atlas 2024. According to the data, more than one billion people worldwide are currently living with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, costing the global economy an estimated $1 trillion every year in lost productivity.
But the real shock? Governments spend, on average, just 2% of their health budgets on mental health.
We explore what the reports reveal about major gaps in care, slow legal reforms, and the failure to fully shift away from institutional treatment toward community-based support. While some countries are making progress, the overall pace of change remains dangerously slow.
The WHO is now calling on governments to act - urgently - demanding fairer funding, stronger systems, and recognition of mental health care as a basic human right, not a luxury.
If you want to understand the global mental health crisis - and what needs to change - this episode lays it out clearly.
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