On the World Mental Health Day WHO Azerbaijan calls mental health care for all

On World Mental Health Day this year it has been more than 18 months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some countries, life is returning to some semblance of normality; in others, rates of transmission and hospital admissions remain high, disrupting the lives of families and communities.

This year’s slogan for the day is “Mental health care for all: let’s make it a reality.” In this context, a virtual meeting of National Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Technical Group was organized focusing on major impacts of the pandemic on people’s mental health. 

In the meeting, the representatives of WHO Azerbaijan, Ministry of Health, TABIB, Mental Health Center and Social Services Agency participated and delivered speeches on the importance of mental health. 

“We must invest in suicide prevention to avoid further loss of life, especially among young people. Stigma and prejudice are widespread and affect every aspect of mental health, including whether people seek and receive help. Improving mental health literacy is essential for eliminating stigma against mental illness,” Dr Elturan İsmayilov, Public Health Officer of WHO Azerbaijan stated in his opening speech. 

Mental health is one of the most neglected areas of public health. Close to 1 billion people are living with a mental disorder, 3 million people die every year from the harmful use of alcohol and one person dies every 40 seconds by suicide. 

During the World Health Assembly in May 2021, governments from around the world recognized the need to scale up quality mental health services at all levels and endorsed WHO’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030, including the Plan’s updated implementation options and indicators for measuring progress.