Mental disorders today account for 13% of the disease burden globally, which is expected to rise to 15% by the year 2030. It is estimated that about 450 million people worldwide have a mental disorder and that 25% of the population will suffer from mental illness at some time in their lives. Mental healthcare systems are typically flawed all over the world. Various studies have analyzed the existence of barriers and limitations in the use of and access to mental health services.
28% of countries in the world now have no budget for mental health and that, of those countries that provide real spending figures, 36% allocate less than 1% of their total health budget to mental health, something that is very wanting. Around 25% of countries today have no legal framework on mental health and 40% have developed no healthcare policies or legislation in this area. This deficient funding and limited access to mental healthcare results in a treatment gap and in patients and family members themselves have to shoulder the high costs in economic and psychosocial terms.
Despite having market-driven or state-planned mental healthcare, upper-middle-income countries (HMICs) have created expensive and inefficient mental healthcare services that are not universally accepted and do not allow for the sufficient involvement of people with mental illness and their families in their planning. Our current mental healthcare systems are focused on caring for those infected and management of the mental illness we’re witnessing has been neglected. An integrated approach towards this is needed to strengthen the health system.
Overcoming the barriers in mental healthcare systems is a challenge for political regimes worldwide. This issue requires the recovery approach that helps one take control of their own life by deciding what’s important to them and how they would like their life to look like, holistically. There’s important to integrate mental health at the primary healthcare level and fight to reduce the stigma it brings with it, in all areas. It is also important for the recipient of care and their family members to participate in the treatment process and in the creation of legislation to help strengthen the mental healthcare system by improving the adaptation, continuity, suitability, and efficiency of the care, providing higher quality resources and instilling more positive attitudes in service providers/healthcare providers.