Depression Let's Talk: World Health Day 2017

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Key facts

  • Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression.
  • Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.
  • More women are affected by depression than men.
  • At its worst, depression can lead to suicide.
  • There are effective treatments for depression.
The theme of the 2017 World Health Day campaign happening on April 7th is depression. Depression affects people of all ages, from all walks of life, in all countries. It causes mental anguish and impacts on people’s ability to carry out even the simplest everyday tasks, with sometimes devastating consequences for relationships with family and friends and the ability to earn a living. To mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization(WHO), a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world is selected every April 7th, providing a unique opportunity to mobilize action around .

Depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. According to the latest estimates from WHO, more than 300 million people are now living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015. Lack of support for people with mental disorders, coupled with a fear of stigma, prevent many from accessing the treatment they need to live healthy, productive lives.

Credits: World Health Organization
The new estimates have been released in the lead-up to World Health Day on 7 April, the high point in WHO’s year-long campaign “Depression: let’s talk”. The overall goal of the campaign is that more people with depression, everywhere in the world, both seek and get help. Said WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan: “These new figures are a wake-up call for all countries to re-think their approaches to mental health and to treat it with the urgency that it deserves.”

How to Address Depression as Community

  • One of the first steps is to address issues around prejudice and discrimination. “The continuing stigma associated with mental illness was the reason why we decided to name our campaign Depression: let’s talk,” said Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO. “For someone living with depression, talking to a person they trust is often the first step towards treatment and recovery.”
  • Urgent Need for Increased Investment. Increased investment is being advocated as a major need in successfully addressing depression. In many low and middle income countries including Nigeria, there is no, or very little, support available for people with mental health disorders. Even in high-income countries, nearly 50% of people with depression do not get treatment. On average, just 3% of government health budgets is invested in mental health, varying from less than 1% in low-income countries to 5% in high-income countries.

Failure to Act is Costly

Investment in mental health makes economic sense.  Every US$ 1 invested in scaling up treatment for depression and anxiety leads to a return of US$ 4 in better health and ability to work. Treatment usually involves either a talking therapy or antidepressant medication or a combination of the two. Both approaches can be provided by non-specialist health-workers, following a short course of training, and using WHO’s mhGAP Intervention Guide. More than 90 countries, of all income levels, have introduced or scaled-up programmes that provide treatment for depression and other mental disorders using this Intervention Guide. 

What steps have been taken in Nigeria? Mental Health is in Silent Crisis in Nigeria. 

Failure to act is costly. According to a WHO-led study, which calculated treatment costs and health outcomes in 36 low-, middle- and high-income countries for the 15 years from 2016-2030, low levels of recognition and access to care for depression and another common mental disorder, anxiety, result in a global economic loss of a trillion US dollars every year. The losses are incurred by households, employers and governments. Households lose out financially when people cannot work. Employers suffer when employees become less productive and are unable to work. Governments have to pay higher health and welfare expenditures.

In Nigeria, the over all health budget for 2017 is dismayful, grossly inadequate  to the already overburdened health-care systems. The NIGERIAN MENTAL HEALTH POLICY (NMHP) have been swept under the carpet or should I say rug? If such a dismissal amount is allocated to mainstream health sector what happens to the already sinking mental health care system in Nigeria. Did we ever had any functional mental health care in the first place? An average Nigeria have not even heard of the contents or components of the NMHP. 

Meantime, #Let'sTalk Depression. It is 5 days more to conclude the campaign on depression. I will be sharing more insights on how how you as an individual and communities can #TakeAction to STOP the Stigma and Discrimination on depression and other mental health disorders, more specifically, what is the interrelationship between depression and other mental health disorders like suicide? What are the types and treatment options available in your locality? These are some of the feature articles my blog will addressing in subsequent updates. Do not  miss any. Follow my blog at facebook, google plus, twitter to get updates. or

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