<p>The World Health Organization on Friday called on all nations to invest more in mental health, saying "the suffering is enormous" and has been made worse by the Covid pandemic.</p>.<p>Even before Covid-19 almost a billion people were living with a mental disorder, the UN agency said in its largest review of global mental health in two decades.</p>.<p>Then in the first year of the pandemic, rates of depression and anxiety went up by a quarter, even as scarce resources were deployed to fighting the virus.</p>.<p>Just two per cent of national health budgets and less than one per cent of all international health aid goes to mental health, the WHO's report said.</p>.<p>"All these numbers are very, very low," Mark Van Ommeren of the WHO's mental health unit told a news conference.</p>.<p>"Interest in mental health right now is at an all-time-high" due to the pandemic, he said.</p>.<p>"But the investment in mental health has not gone up. This report gives countries information on how to invest their mental health money better."</p>.<p>He said the report highlighted how "the suffering is enormous" across the world.</p>.<p>About one in eight people globally live with a mental disorder, according to the report.</p>.<p>It is worse for those living in conflict zones, where one in five people are estimated to suffer from a mental health condition.</p>.<p>And young people, women and people already suffering from mental health issues were harder hit by Covid and the following restrictions, Van Ommeren said.</p>.<p>"Where there is adversity, there are more mental health problems," he added.</p>.<p>The WHO's "World Mental Health Report" also highlighted vast gaps in access to mental healthcare between nations.</p>.<p>While more than 70 per cent of people suffering from psychosis receive treatment in high-income countries, the number drops to 12 per cent in low-income nations, it said.</p>.<p>The report called for an end to the stigma attached to mental health, pointing out that 20 countries still criminalise attempted suicide.</p>.<p>It also said that while one in 20 suicide attempts leads to death, suicide still accounts for more than one out of every 100 deaths worldwide.</p>.<p>Enoch Li in China told WHO researchers that she "used to look down upon those who wanted to kill themselves" before severe depression made her suicidal.</p>.<p>"I was moments away from dying," she said before her boyfriend stopped her and she sought help.</p>.<p>"The moment I understood that depression and anxiety could hit anyone, and it doesn't make us less of a person, was the moment I became open to the fact that I needed others to help me find myself again."</p>.<p>WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that "everyone's life touches someone with a mental health condition".</p>.<p>"Investment into mental health is an investment into a better life and future for all," he said in a statement.</p>
<p>The World Health Organization on Friday called on all nations to invest more in mental health, saying "the suffering is enormous" and has been made worse by the Covid pandemic.</p>.<p>Even before Covid-19 almost a billion people were living with a mental disorder, the UN agency said in its largest review of global mental health in two decades.</p>.<p>Then in the first year of the pandemic, rates of depression and anxiety went up by a quarter, even as scarce resources were deployed to fighting the virus.</p>.<p>Just two per cent of national health budgets and less than one per cent of all international health aid goes to mental health, the WHO's report said.</p>.<p>"All these numbers are very, very low," Mark Van Ommeren of the WHO's mental health unit told a news conference.</p>.<p>"Interest in mental health right now is at an all-time-high" due to the pandemic, he said.</p>.<p>"But the investment in mental health has not gone up. This report gives countries information on how to invest their mental health money better."</p>.<p>He said the report highlighted how "the suffering is enormous" across the world.</p>.<p>About one in eight people globally live with a mental disorder, according to the report.</p>.<p>It is worse for those living in conflict zones, where one in five people are estimated to suffer from a mental health condition.</p>.<p>And young people, women and people already suffering from mental health issues were harder hit by Covid and the following restrictions, Van Ommeren said.</p>.<p>"Where there is adversity, there are more mental health problems," he added.</p>.<p>The WHO's "World Mental Health Report" also highlighted vast gaps in access to mental healthcare between nations.</p>.<p>While more than 70 per cent of people suffering from psychosis receive treatment in high-income countries, the number drops to 12 per cent in low-income nations, it said.</p>.<p>The report called for an end to the stigma attached to mental health, pointing out that 20 countries still criminalise attempted suicide.</p>.<p>It also said that while one in 20 suicide attempts leads to death, suicide still accounts for more than one out of every 100 deaths worldwide.</p>.<p>Enoch Li in China told WHO researchers that she "used to look down upon those who wanted to kill themselves" before severe depression made her suicidal.</p>.<p>"I was moments away from dying," she said before her boyfriend stopped her and she sought help.</p>.<p>"The moment I understood that depression and anxiety could hit anyone, and it doesn't make us less of a person, was the moment I became open to the fact that I needed others to help me find myself again."</p>.<p>WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that "everyone's life touches someone with a mental health condition".</p>.<p>"Investment into mental health is an investment into a better life and future for all," he said in a statement.</p>