Effective treatments for mental illness not being used, WHO says

doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7316.769

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Phyllida Brown

Exeter

The World Health Organization this week urged governments worldwide to tackle the heavy and growing burden of mental illness and neurological disease. Effective and affordable treatments exist for many conditions, but they are not being used, said the WHO in its latest annual report on global health assessment, World Health Report 2001.

One in four people will experience mental illness at some point in their lives, but neglect, stigma, and a “dismal” lack of resources prevent most of them from getting any help, said the report. “The magnitude …