World mental health report- What has the WHO highlighted on mental health?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the critical need for global mental health system transformation due to widespread underfunding and access gaps, emphasizing the importance of person-cantered, community-based care over outdated institutions.WHO encourages mental health to become an urgent and worldwide action; there is a lag in the budget and care. India has policy intention, but the access, stigma, and implementation are problematic.

The issue of mental health has gained significant importance in all parts of the world, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has always stressed its important roles in tempering the well-being of a person, the productivity of a society, and the development of any given society in the long run. In spite of the increasing perception, mental disorders are still among the top causes of disability globally, repeatedly enhanced by systemic neglect, underfunding, and universal stigma. The COVID-19 pandemic further fuelled the psychological distress as it revealed mature structural vulnerability to mental health infrastructure, both in high-income and low and middle-income countries. In reaction, the WHO has urged groundbreaking, rights-oriented actions that put the focus on community-based treatment, trans-sectoral cooperation, and equal opportunity in accessing services.This article provides an analysis of the global situation related to mental health based on the new results of the WHO, how the countries react to the issue, and which systemic problems accumulate and remain unchanged. It also assesses the mental health system in India and the policy approaches that influenced this process, including the Mental Healthcare Act (2017) and the National Mental Health Programme, and critically reviews the weak points in the implementation, the lack of funds, and the problems associated with delivering services. The article lays down the urgency of recreating the management of mental health to include the broader international perspective by putting in place the efforts of India within the broader context of global governance of mental health to create inclusive, scalable, and evidence-based intervention strategies in governing mental health.

World mental health report- Key Highlights from the World Mental Health Report by WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published "The Global Mental Health Highlights" in September 2025, providing a comprehensive update on the global mental health landscape. Key findings reveal a significant increase in mental disorders, with over one billion people living with a mental condition, and highlight critical gaps in care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.Mental health has emerged as a social determinant of public health concern in the 21stcentury. The need to introduce systematic reform and long-term investment is emphasized by the latest reports by the World Health Organization (WHO).Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well.

Magnitude of the Global Mental Health Burden
According to the World Mental Health Today and Mental Health Atlas 2024 report, more than a billion people in the world deal with mental issues, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Long-term disability in the world has become the second most dominant cause of these disorders, and it is experienced by persons of all ages, across all socioeconomic levels. The cost involved in economics is staggering; estimated costs of depression and anxiety alone to the global economy are equivalent to a lost productivity of about one trillion dollars in any given year.

Youth Vulnerability and Suicide
The latest suicide statistics released by WHO indicate up to 727,000 individuals committed suicide in 2021, becoming the third leading cause of death among young individuals between the ages of 15-29. Worryingly, an overwhelming majority of these deaths were experienced below 50, with 73 percent of the hypothesis on low- and middle-income nations. This affects women as well, and, the second most common cause of death in this group is suicide. These statistics signify the high level of urgency of delivering specific prevention measures and youth-oriented mental health care.

Systemic Weaknesses in Services and Financing
As the magnitude of the crisis has been high, mental health is much underfunded. According to the WHO, mental health represents the smallest share of national health budgets, which amounts to 2 percent, and has not increased since 2017. There exist singular spending difference levels: developed nations spend to the tune of up to 65 or more dollars per capita, whilst, third-world countries spend minimal amounts, spending less than 0.04 Dollar. There are also problems of staff shortages, as median figures of 13 mental health practitioners per 100,000 inhabitants remain low on a global scale. Moreover, not even 1 out of 10 nations switched completely to in-community care and most of them persist in the utilization of psychiatric institutions.

Call to Transformative Action
WHO also insists that mental health care should not be a privilege but should be considered a right. This organization supports the cause of rights-based and community-driven models, primary healthcare integrations, and inter-sectoral cooperation. The aim of these findings is to impact policy dialogue worldwide, such as the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health in New York. The reports by WHO have become a wake-up call to governments to make mental health their priority in terms of social wellness and universal as well as supplemental development.

Recommended Strategies to Improve Mental Health Worldwide

Mental health has become a planet-wide issue that has gained traction within the past few years, but details are not sufficient. Recent reports made by the WHO reflect the encouraging changes in policies and structural gaps that are still present in countries.The guidance provides a clear framework to transform mental health services in line with the latest evidence and international human rights standards.

Policy Developments and Investment Resolutions
The past two years have seen countries revise their mental health laws, broaden national mentorship plans, and make mental health a part of wider and more extensive health policy. According to the WHO, its Mental Health Atlas 2024 records that 74% of the countries currently have independent mental health policies, with more than 60% of countries reporting having suicide prevention policies. These changes represent an increase in the relative political attention to mental health as a social health concern. Also, the international arenas like the UN High-Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health (2025) have triggered international discourse, as well as multi-sectoral dialogue.

Constant Underinvestment and Labor shortages
Regardless of the developments in policy, mental health has been underfunded chronically. WHO records that average government expenditure in mental health is only 2 percent of the overall health expenditures, which has not improved since 2017. The highest spending is made by high-income countries, up to 65 dollarsannually per capita, with the least amount spent by the low-income earners at 0.04 annually. This inequality is a serious constraint on the service coverage and quality. Besides, the worldwide average of mental health providers is 13 per 100,000 individuals, and in the low-resource context, these numbers are extremely low. These are some of the barriers limiting the adoption of community-based care and timely treatment at an initial stage.

Inadequate Shifting to Community-Based Models
A low proportion,that is,10 percent of countries has made a complete shift to community-based mental health care. The systems continue to be largely dependent on psychiatric facilities, with close to half of the inpatient admissions being non-voluntary and more than 20 percent of the patients staying in the facilities longer than a year. This is an institutional model that usually continues to enforce stigma and violate human rights. WHO lauds a move towards decentralized rights-based care as part of primary health systems, but improvement is still minor because of infrastructural and cultural obstacles.

Weaknesses in Suicide Prevention and Youth Services
There is a decrease in the effectiveness of suicide prevention efforts, and the world is not achieving its targets. WHO reports a 12% decrease in deaths through suicide since 2015, in contrast to the SDG target of a 33% reduction by the year 2030. Youth, in particular women, are disproportionately vulnerable, but mental health services offered to youth are still disjointed. Digital platforms, school-based interventions, and peer support models are new, although they need to be increased and maintained.

Mental Health Situation in India

India's mental health status is concerning, marked by a significant treatment gap, with 15% of adults needing intervention but a large majority not receiving care, and only 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, well below WHO recommendations.The mental state of India is an intricate challenge of demographic strain, system elicitation, and changing policy conditions. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of disease burden and lack of service access to high disease burden to deal with in the country, though the awareness has gone up.The report aims to capitalize on the growing recognition of mental health's importance amid a global pandemic, which disrupted care.

The financial cost of mental diseases and suicide
India has a large proportion of the mental health burden in the world. The statistics revealedby the WHO indicate that the country has 2,443 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 people as a result of mental disorders. More than 50 million Indians and 38 million people are affected by depression and anxiety, respectively. Suicide is a critical issue, and a hundred thousand deaths occur in India due to suicide annually. India stands in the third place in terms of the suicides of females and accounts for close to a quarter of deaths among men across the world. The age-adjusted rate of suicide continues to be 21.1/100,000 with alarming regional ranges of 0.6 in Bihar and 43 in Sikkim.

Legal and Policy Frameworks
India has been making serious initiatives in mental health laws. Both the Mental Health Policy (2014) and the Mental Healthcare Act (2017) highlight a rights-based, involving model that would conform to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Those frameworks will ensure that mental health care is accessible, and there is no discrimination, and the government is supposed to provide care. The mission of the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and Health and Wellness Centres is to devolve services, and within primary care, mental health services are to be incorporated.

Structural and human resource issues
Although there is an intention to implement the policy, it is chaotic. There exist severe shortages of skilled, trained professionals in India, such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and psychiatric social workers, which are way below the WHO-recommended ratios. The infrastructure is being concentrated in the urban areas, with the rural folks being underserved. Mental health budgetary allocation that is below 1 per cent of the total health budget restricts outreach and innovation. Further, stigmatisation and insufficient awareness remain a point disparaging helping behaviour, particularly among the young population and marginalised groups.

Importance of Awareness and Policy Support in Mental Health

It takes more than an incremental change to effect the transformation of mental health systems, which calls for a paradigm shift. The 2025 guidance by WHO provides an overall roadmap that countries should follow in the development of inclusive, rights-based, and resilient mental health.

Empowering Leadership and Governance
The WHO points out that national health priority should be boosted to include mental health as a high ranking through effective leadership and Inter-sectoral rules. The countries are encouraged to put in place special mental health units, coherence in policy across ministries, and mental health within universal health coverage systems. There should be clear monitoring systems and accountability frameworks that can follow up with improvements and maintenance of services.

Refocusing Service Delivery
One of the recommendations is the move to community-based care as opposed to institutional care. The WHO espouses the establishment of mental healthcare into primary healthcare, which will detect mental health issues early enough and also eliminate excessive admissions to psychiatric facilities. Services are to be person-focused, culturally oriented, and available at all ages. Mobile clinics, tele-mental health systems, and peer-led support systems are recommended in an effort to eliminate geographic and social barriers.

Investing in Workforce and Capacity Building
It is important to deal with the global lack of mental health practitioners. The WHO recommends more training, implementation of task exchange with non-specialist care providers, and service designs that incorporate experts in lived experience. Medical education, social workers, and other related health training should have been integrated with mental health literacy. Provision of incentives to rural implementation and professional development are also critical to the even distribution of services.

Social Determinants and Well-being
The problem of mental health cannot be discussed outside of its social and economic contextual factors. The framework used by the WHO is calling governments to make mental health a component of housing, employment, educational, as well as social protection policies. Measures aimed at preventing an illness should be in place (e.g., mental health programs at school, wellness programs at work, anti-stigma actions, etc.) because they help to make the general population more resilient. The empowerment of communities and the addition of a voice to those who were left to experience some form of violence will make the interventions responsive and rights-affirming.

Conclusion-WHO’s Perspective on Global Mental Health Challenges

Summary-The recent developments by the World Health Organization suggest that mental health is a universal concern that requires cohesive and immediate measures. As long as policy building and strategic commitments have increased in the various countries, systemic loopholes in funding, service delivery, and the capacity to transport the workforce still weaken progress. The Indian mental health scenario is full of both potential and struggles, centred on the enactment of progressive laws and a lack of contribution on the part of the implementation process. The situation demands a radical approach of inclusion through community-based care, incorporated into the primary health systems, and of funding in the long run. Social determinants, stigma, and empowerment of people with lived experience should be the key to the development of robust mental health ecosystems. With the coming of the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on Mental Health, the rebuilding of governance in the mental health sector should not be left behind. The multi-sectoral approach is the most feasible path to the attainment of the objective of the rights-based and evidence-based approach towards promoting the mental well-being of everyone. Mental health needs to be viewed as a health concern, not just for human development to be discussed, but it should be akin to a keystone of human development.