How Asia is Addressing Mental Health Issues?

Nearly one billion people globally live with mental health conditions, and about 260 million of them reside in the World Health Organization WHO) South-East Asia Region. Governments across Asia are ramping up efforts to combat the rising mental health crisis. As October 10 will be observed as World Mental Health Day, we take a look at the region's focus on policy reforms to address the growing burden of mental healthcare across Asia.

- Ayesha Siddiqui

Mental health issues are well-documented, affecting nearly one billion people worldwide, with approximately 260 million residing in the WHO South-East Asia Region. Insufficient investment in mental health services and the healthcare workforce has led to significant treatment gaps in the region, a situation further worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Global estimates indicate the WHO South-East Asia Region accounts for around 27 per cent of all cases of depression and 23 per cent of all cases of anxiety.

Despite its inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), only 2 per cent of total government health expenditure and 1 per cent of global development assistance for health are dedicated to mental health, according to the WHO’s Mental Health Atlas 2020.

Mental illness presents a significant health and socioeconomic burden, accounting for over 20 per cent of total Years Lived with Disability (YLDs) and 9.3 per cent of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in the Asia-Pacific region. As per a report by The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (2016), even advanced economies like Australia and New Zealand face GDP deficits of 3.5 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, linked to mental illness. Furthermore, it is estimated that by 2030, mental illness will result in a loss of $11 trillion in economic growth for India and China alone, according to a report ‘Provision for Supporting People with Mental Illness: A Comparison of 15 Asia-Pacific Countries,’ prepared by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and sponsored by Janssen Asia Pacific.

To address these growing concerns, policymakers and health systems across the region are taking a note. Various countries have developed national strategic plans and made investments to strengthen mental healthcare.