Mental health disorders a major threat to health and economy — CARPHA
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago — The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) says mental health disorders are now recognised as the fifth major non-communicable disease and a major threat to health and economic development in the 21st century in the Caribbean and worldwide.
The agency made the statement on the eve of this year’s World Mental Health Day, on October 10.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four people globally will be affected by a mental disorder or neurological disorder in their lifetime and 450 million are affected by these disorders, such as, depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia and substance dependency.
CARPHA added that mental health disorders are a leading cause of disability and a major contributor to the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean region. It said in Jamaica, the burden of mental illness is predicted to cause US$2.76 billion in lost economic output from 2015-2030.
The agency said lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and this year’s campaign focuses on investment in mental health.
The World Federation for Mental Health explained that, “Good mental health is critical to the functioning of society at the best of times. It must be front and centre of every country’s response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and well-being of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently.”
CARPHA said the current COVID-19 pandemic is also affecting different people in different ways, and is having a major impact on individuals’ mental health and well-being including those persons who have existing mental illnesses.
“Investing in interventions designed to improve health can help reduce the burden of these illnesses. There are cost-effective interventions that Caribbean countries can implement to prevent and control mental illnesses. Scaled up treatment for mental health disorders are likely to increase healthy life years, thus avoiding significant economic losses and social costs. Over a 15-year period, scaling up treatment for mental health conditions in Jamaica would result in J$4.20 return on investment for every J$1 invested,” the agency said in a release today.
“We must support interventions and investments aimed at prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. So that we move closer to achieving our goals, we need to continue to pledge support to the 2007 Declaration of Port of Spain: Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases, and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.4 which aims to reduce, by 2030, premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one third, through prevention and treatment and the promotion of mental health and well-being,” said Dr Joy St John, CARPHA Executive Director.
She further stated that a “whole of society approach” is essential in order to prevent and control mental disorders and other NCDs.
The agency said it continues to work closely with the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Institutions of the Community, Member States and its public health partners to create the needed alliances between governments, academia, civil society and others, to help to shape regional and country-level policy and programmes that address the issues of mental health disorders and to promote mental well-being.