Every year 10th of October is celebrated as World Mental Health Day is celebrated. It is a global day to raise awareness and fight against social stigma for global mental health. The World Mental Health Federation (WMHF), a global mental health organization with representatives and contacts in more than 150 nations, was the first to commemorate this event in 1992. On every October, thousands of supporters celebrate this annual awareness programme, which focuses on mental health and its significant influence on the lives of people around the world. This day is part of an awareness week in certain nations, such as Australia’s Mental Health Week.
Mental health is one of public health’s most vulnerable regions. Nearly one billion people suffer from mental illnesses also 3 million die from unhealthy alcohol consumption each year. In every 40 seconds one person dies from suicide every. And now, the COVID-19 pandemic, with more effects on human mental health, has reached billions of people around the world.
History
On the initiative of Deputy Secretary General Richard Hunter, World Mental Health Day was first celebrated on the 10th of October 1992. Until 1994 the day had no particular subject other than encouraging the promotion and education of the public on mental health. In 1994, at the initiative of then Secretary General Eugene Brody, World Mental Health Day was celebrated for the first time under a theme. The theme was “Improving the quality of mental health services around the world.” WHO supports World Mental Health Day by raising awareness of mental health issues utilising its strong partnerships with health ministries and organisations of civil society around the globe. The WHO also promotes technological and media growth.
Theme of World Mental Health Day 2021
This year the theme of World Mental Health Day 2021- Mental Health in an Unequal World
Note: According to WHO the theme for “Mental Health Day 2021 is – Mental health care for all: let’s make it a reality”
Mental health is a human right. It is time for all to have mental health at their reach. The basis for universal health coverage is quality, accessible primary health care and it is desperately needed as the world grapples with the global health emergency. Therefore, for everyone, anywhere, we need to make mental health a reality for everyone.
In the world before the pandemic, and particularly in humanitarian crises and conflict settings, restricted access to quality, accessible mental health care has been further reduced due to COVID-19 as the pandemic has disrupted health services around the world. Infection and the chance of infection in longer-term care institutions like healthcare centres and psychiatric institutions have been the key causes; obstacles to meeting patients face-to – face; virus-infected mental health personnel and the closure of mental health facilities that transform them into COVID 19 care facilities.
Campaign of World Mental Heath Day
The campaign of World Mental Health Day 2020 is- an opportunity to kick-start a massive scale-up in investment in mental health
WHO, along with partner organizations Unified for Global Mental Health and the World Federation for Mental Health, is calling for a huge scale-up of mental health funding for this year’s World Mental Health Day. A Global Mental Health Day initiative, Move for Mental Health: Let’s Invest, will kick off in September to inspire public action around the global.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, said that World Mental Health Day is an occasion for the world to come together and begin to remedy the historical neglect of mental health. “The effect on the mental well-being of people is already clear from the COVID-19 pandemic, and that’s just the start. The wellness, social and economic ramifications will be far-reaching unless we make significant commitments to scale up investment in mental health right now.
Swikriti Dandotia
