Nearly 38pc Pakistanis battling mental health disorders as WHO warns of global crisis

ISLAMABAD: Almost four out of every ten Pakistanis are suffering from mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, experts and official surveys have revealed, as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that more than one billion people worldwide are now living with mental illnesses, costing the global economy a staggering $1 trillion every year.

In Pakistan, around 38 percent of citizens are struggling with psychiatric or psychological problems, while 25 percent are suffering from severe depression. Mental health professionals say the situation is particularly alarming among the country’s youth, with many young people battling hopelessness, drug addiction and suicidal tendencies amid growing social and economic pressures.

According to psychiatrists, at least 17,000 Pakistanis attempt suicide every year, though the actual numbers are believed to be far higher due to stigma and underreporting. Surveys also show that around seven percent of people in the country experience suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives. Experts warn that mental illness is becoming a silent epidemic in Pakistan, devastating families and crippling communities.

The crisis in Pakistan reflects a global emergency. The WHO’s new reports — World Mental Health Today and the Mental Health Atlas 2024 — reveal that anxiety and depression remain the most common disorders worldwide, especially among women. Suicide is claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every year, with 727,000 deaths reported in 2021 alone, making it one of the leading causes of death among young people. Despite this growing burden, spending on mental health remains extremely low. WHO said that governments spend a median of only two percent of their health budgets on mental health, a figure unchanged since 2017.

While high-income countries spend up to $65 per person, low-income countries like Pakistan spend as little as four cents, leaving millions without access to care. With only a handful of psychiatrists serving a population of over 240 million, Pakistan faces one of the worst treatment gaps in the region.

Mental health experts, including Prof Iqbal Afridi, say that neglect, unemployment, poverty and poor awareness are driving thousands of young people into depression and substance abuse every year.

They stressed the need for urgent reforms, including the integration of mental health into primary healthcare, school and workplace counselling services, and legislation to ensure that psychiatric care is treated as a basic human right.

Globally, WHO warned that fewer than 10 percent of countries have transitioned to community-based mental health care, with psychiatric hospitals continuing to dominate. Nearly half of all psychiatric admissions are still involuntary, and over one-fifth last more than a year.

There are, however, some positive developments. School-based mental health programmes, suicide prevention campaigns and telehealth services are expanding in many countries, and more than 80 percent of nations now include psychosocial support in emergency response plans compared to just 39 percent in 2020.

In Pakistan too, universities, NGOs and private organisations have begun setting up counselling helplines and awareness initiatives, though experts say these efforts remain too small compared to the massive scale of the problem.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described mental health as one of the most urgent public health challenges of our time. “Investing in mental health means investing in people, communities and economies. The cost of inaction is measured not just in dollars, but in lives lost and communities broken,” he warned.

With nearly 80 million Pakistanis directly or indirectly affected, psychiatrists say the country can no longer afford to treat mental health as a taboo subject. Without urgent action, they warn, the burden will continue to rise, pushing more young people towards despair and robbing the nation of its future.