Overview

• Salta’s health ministry said 13 interior hospitals added mental‑health services in the past year, hiring 37 new professionals and reporting a 49% rise in consultations in the first half of 2025.
• PAHO reports anxiety and depression among 15–24 year‑olds rose about 14% after COVID-19 confinement, and roughly 160 million people in the Americas live with mental disorders.
• In Mexico, specialists report about 70% of those needing psychological help do not receive it, and people with depression wait an average of roughly 14 years to reach treatment.
• University data show high prevalence in student populations at UNAM—about 28% of new entrants with elevated anxiety and one in three with depression—prompting expanded campus services such as Espora and ProSAM.
• Advocates urge greater investment and prevention, noting mental health receives about 2% of health budgets in Mexico with scarce pediatric capacity, and estimating each dollar invested yields about four dollars in productivity returns.