Facing Down Mental Illness

The global economic costs of mental illness over the next two decades will exceed the costs of cancer, diabetes, and respiratory ailments combined. With the stakes so high, the human and economic case for leaders to take mental health seriously is clearly compelling.

DAVOS – Contrary to common perception, mental illness is a problem that is neither new nor unique to the developed world. What we call schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are recognizable in literature dating back to ancient Greece, and The Anatomy of Melancholy, published in 1621 by the English scholar Robert Burton, remains one of the most astute descriptions of depression. Today, low- and middle-income countries account for most of the morbidity and 75% of the suicides that result from mental illness.

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