Overview
- The World Health Organization estimates that one in seven people aged 10 to 19 has a mental disorder, with depression among the most common.
- In Buenos Aires, authorities report more than one hospitalization per day of children and adolescents for suicide risk, 90% of them teenagers, as hospital mental‑health consultations climb about 30%.
- Peru’s health ministry tallied 12,718 moderate or severe depressive episodes in 2025, up 15% year over year, and 4,053 suicide attempts, up 26%, with 15‑ to 24‑year‑olds most affected; a multi‑university survey found 37% of undergraduates with severe anxiety and 29% with severe depression.
- Mexico’s IMSS says it treated 203,000 people for depression by the end of 2024—10.8% under 20 and 74% women—while SSA estimates 3.6 million adults live with depression; free help includes the 24/7 Línea de la Vida at 800 911 2000.
- Providers cite strained capacity and misinformation, noting over 50,000 mental‑health consultations in Rosario in 2024 and a growing trend of adolescents and parents arriving with AI or social‑media‑based self‑diagnoses.