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UN Secretary-General issues message on World Mental Health Day

09 October 2009 14:41 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a message on October 10 â€“ World Mental Health Day, UN Office in Azerbaijan told APA. The message says:
â€œAs defined in the constitution of the World Health Organization, health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, it is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. Mental disorders contribute more to disease burden and disability in developing countries than any other category of non-communicable disease, yet only a small minority of people with mental disorders in these countries have access to mental health services. The need is high, and care is inadequate. World Mental Health Day is an important opportunity to mobilize international resources to meet the goal of providing adequate mental health care. Governments and public health organizations, civil society, multilateral agencies and donors must join hands to make this happen. Effective treatments exist for a wide variety of mental disorders. Let us unite to scale up mental health services and involve primary health care systems in delivering mental health services worldwide. Health is an important human right. Let us this year resolve to reduce the public health burden and the individual suffering of people with mental health problems worldwide.â€