Title: The World Health Report 2001: Mental Disorders affect one in four people
Headings: The World Health Report 2001: Mental Disorders affect one in four people
The World Health Report 2001: Mental Disorders affect one in four people
Treatment available but not being used
Media Contacts
Gregory Härtl

Content: The lack of access to affordable treatment makes the course of the illness more severe and debilitating, leading to a vicious circle of poverty and mental health disorders that is rarely broken. The report says new knowledge can have a tremendous impact on how individuals, societies and the public health community deal with mental disorders. We now know that large mental institutions no longer represent the best option for patients and families. Such institutions lead to a loss of social skills, excessive restriction, human rights violations, dependency, and reduced opportunities for rehabilitation. Countries should move towards setting up community care alternatives in a planned manner, ensuring that such alternatives are in place even as institutions are being phased out. "Science, ethics and experience point to clear paths to follow. In the face of this knowledge, a failure to act will reflect a lack of commitment to address mental health problems," said Dr Benedetto Saraceno, Director of WHO’s Mental Health and Substance Dependence department. The policy directions have never been so clear, says WHO. Governments who are just starting to address mental health will need to set priorities. Choices must be made among a large number of services and a wide range of prevention and promotion strategies.