Making Mental Health a Global Priority

At a conference in April in Washington, D.C., the World Bank Group (WBG), together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners kick-started a call to action to governments, international partners, health professionals, and others to find solutions to a rising global mental health problem. Our authors write that mental disorders account for 30 percent of the non-fatal disease burden worldwide and 10 percent of overall disease burden, including death and disability, and that the global cost—estimated to be approximately $2.5 trillion in 2010—is expected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030.