World Mental Health Day is celebrated annually on October 10 to raise awareness about mental health worldwide and mobilize efforts to support people facing mental health challenges.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is a fundamental human right for everyone.
“Everyone, wherever they are and whoever they are, has the right to the highest attainable standard of mental health. This includes the right to be protected from mental health risks, the right to available, accessible, acceptable and good quality care, and the right to freedom, independence and inclusion in the community,” says the WHO.
Good mental health is essential to our overall health and well-being. Yet one in eight people worldwide live with mental health problems, which can impact their physical health, well-being, relationships with others and livelihoods. Mental health problems also affect a growing number of adolescents and young people.
WHO said it continues to work with partners to ensure that mental health is valued, promoted and protected, and that urgent action is taken so that everyone can exercise their human rights and access mental health care. quality he needs.
World Mental Health Day 2023 is an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind the theme “Mental health is a universal human right” to improve knowledge, raise awareness and take actions that promote and protect mental health. mental health of everyone as a universal human right.
The overall aim of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts for mental health. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work and what remains to be done to make mental health care a reality for people around the world.
George Brock Chisholm, the first director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) suggested the creation of the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH).
George Brock Chisholm, a Canadian psychiatrist, envisioned the WFMH as an international non-governmental organization charged with providing a link between “grassroots” mental health organizations and United Nations agencies.
A radical thinker, Chisholm’s view that “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” provided early guidance to both the WHO and WFMH.
World Mental Health Day was established on October 10, 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health. Since then, it has been observed annually with the aim of raising awareness of crucial mental health programs in the global community through collaboration with various partners to take action and create lasting change.
