Banner Image for Making Mental Health A Regional Priority

World Mental Health Day 2023

Making Mental Health A Regional Priority

This World Mental Health Day, we’re championing mental health as a universal human right. Speaking at the 2023 Global Summit for Mental Health Advocates, SDGHI's Dr Anne-Claire Stona touches upon what is being done to make global mental health a regional priority.


Mental health has long been a neglected global health issue.

The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 4 people in the world will be affected by a mental or neurological disorder at some point in their lives, with more than 215 million people affected in the Western Pacific region, and 150-200 million people afflicted in South Asia.

In Singapore, the 12-month treatment gap, or the percentage of people who require treatment for an illness but who do not receive it, is 79%. In less-developed countries, that number ranges anywhere between 76% and 85%.

“Despite a high epidemiological and financial burden, change is not happening fast enough in the mental health field,” said Dr Anne-Claire Stona, Research Fellow at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute. “A recently concluded study by Dr Eric Finkelstein from Duke-NUS Medical School found that the burden of depression and anxiety costs in Singapore amounted to a whopping 16 billion Singapore dollars a year.”


d560c5d5-a121-4b12-8c17-cead65865833
Dr Anne-Claire Stona at the 2023 Global Mental Health Advocates Summit

Solutions to the problem are often formed and implemented at a slow pace, given the complexity of mental health issues and the way they involve multiple stakeholders.

Mental health disorders are results of complex systems. They are formed from multiple determinants and shaped to a great extent by social, economic and environmental factors. The solution to alleviate them comes at the intersection of various care approaches, also bringing to question issues on human rights.

Despite this, mental health has to be made a regional priority. Speaking at the 2023 Global Summit for Mental Health Advocates, Dr Stona emphasised the need to address mental health inequities and enhance mental health outcomes via community-based approaches that are tailored to the country’s needs.


“In this region, there currently lacks a platform for knowledge exchange, sharing of best practices, and establishing a repository of innovations and other mental health documentation,” said Dr Stona. She elaborated upon the importance of a life course approach, from the perinatal period to late adulthood, examining mental health across a spectrum which includes positive mental health prevention, care, and recovery.

Fortunately, there have been concerted global and regional efforts aimed at addressing mental health challenges. The Western Pacific office of the World Health Organization published its regional framework to create a new mental health future. The framework includes three directional strategies: to include well-being in the mental health agenda and reach champions and leaders; transform mental health support and care into a community-based ecosystem; and embed mental health into the settings and journeys of daily life.


“We’re honoured to be appointed to host the Asia hub of the Mental Health Innovation Network. SDGHI now joins a global community of mental health innovators for evidence-based practice in global mental health.”

Dr Anne-Claire Stona, Research Fellow, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute
IMG_6040
The SDGHI delegation at the 2023 Global Summit for Mental Health Advocates

Similarly, the World Health Organization of the South-East Asia region also published a strategy outlining 4 objectives that are pivotal to promoting mental well-being. These include strengthening effective leadership and governance for mental health; providing comprehensive, integrated, and responsive mental health and social care services in community-based settings; implementing strategies for promotion and prevention in mental health; and strengthening information systems, evidence, and research for mental health.

At the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, concerted efforts are being put in place to follow up on these regional strategies.

“We’re honoured to be appointed to host the Asia hub of the Mental Health Innovation Network,” said Dr Stona. “SDGHI now joins a global community of mental health innovators and the leading knowledge management and co-production platform for evidence-based practice in global mental health.”


The Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN) aims to champion knowledge synthesis and exchange, nurturing the growing commitment within the global mental health community to develop, test, and implement ‘innovations’ focused on mental health promotion, prevention, and treatment. With existing hubs in Latin America and Africa, the Asia hub is the newest addition to the network.

“As the hosts of the MHIN Asia hub, SDGHI’s priority is to work with Asian sub-hubs to cater to wide regional diversity,” said Dr Stona. This will be done by synthesising knowledge, disseminating evidence generated by mental health research and innovation initiatives throughout Asian countries, promoting the uptake of this evidence in policy and practice, and raising engagement, visibility and access to each organisation, project, and activity.

“Already, we have some exciting projects lining up,” said Dr Stona. “In line with the development of the MHIN Asia hub, we have received funding to conduct a landscape assessment of existing innovations in South and Southeast Asia. This comprises a review of the literature, stakeholder interviews and surveys, and a workshop. We’re looking forward to establishing new connections and bringing together a pool of mental health advocates.”

We are delighted to invite you to join our new regional network! Share your contact details with us here. By doing so, you will receive updates regarding the launch of the Asia web platform and other important information.