<\/P>
Monday is World Mental Health Day. To mark the day, the World Health Organization has launched a campaign to \u201craise awareness and spur action\u201d in regions where there are high rates of death by suicide.<\/P>
The world health body said that the pandemic has created \u201ca global crisis for mental health,\u201d in a statement Monday, adding that it is \u201cfueling short- and long-term stresses and undermining the mental health of millions.\u201d<\/P>
\u201cEstimates put the rise in both anxiety and depressive disorders at more than 25% during the first year of the pandemic,\u201d the U.N. agency said. \u201cAt the same time, mental health services have been severely disrupted and the treatment gap for mental health conditions has widened.\u201d<\/P>
The treatment of mental health issues is particularly acute in Africa where there is only one psychiatrist for every 500,000 people \u2014 100 times less than WHO\u2019s recommendation.<\/P>
The WHO suicide prevention campaign in Africa aims to address the issue. In Africa, 11 people per 100,000 kill themselves, in comparison to the world average of 9 per 100,000. The continent has six of the 10 countries with the highest suicide rates.<\/P>
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said \u201cSignificant investment must be made to tackle Africa\u2019s growing burden of chronic diseases and non-infectious conditions such as mental disorders that can contribute to suicide.\u201d<\/P>
The mental healthcare initiatives that WHO is supporting in Africa include training primary healthcare workers in Zimbabwe to boost quality and access to mental health services.<\/P>
\u201cMental health is integral to wholesome health and well-being yet far too many people in our region who need help for mental health conditions do not receive it. It\u2019s time for radical change,\u201d Dr. Moeti said.<\/P>
<\/P>
<\/P>
<\/P>
Source: Voice of America<\/P>
<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monday is World Mental Health Day. To mark the day, the World Health Organization has launched a campaign to \u201craise awareness and spur action\u201d in regions where there are high rates of death by suicide.The world health body said that the pandemic has cr…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n