Friday, April 7 is the World Health Organization's (WHO) World Health Day. This year, for the first time, the WHO has highlighted mental illness in its annual health campaign. Depression: Let's Talk aims to raise awareness about the various forms of depression, which has overtaken other chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes to become the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide.
Another major goal of the campaign is to ensure more people with depression get help. According to the latest WHO estimates, more than 300 million people are now living with depression, with less than half of sufferers (in many countries, fewer than 10%) receiving treatment.
Previous World Health Days have highlighted health issues such as diabetes, food safety, and vector-borne diseases such as malaria.
Press release available here.
Campaign website available here.