Overview

• WHO’s theme spotlights mental health in catastrophes and emergencies, with about one in five people in conflict settings experiencing a condition.
• The UN Secretary‑General calls mental health care life‑saving and urges integration into relief efforts with proper funding, continuity of medication, and trained professionals.
• WHO figures indicate more than one billion people living with mental disorders worldwide and over 727,000 suicide deaths annually.
• In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscores mental health as essential, with officials citing Tele‑MANAS (53 cells in 36 states, 24/7 in up to 20 languages, over 2.38 million calls since 2022) and the District Mental Health Programme, alongside persistent funding and workforce gaps.
• Experts recommend mobile clinics, telepsychiatry, community supports, and psychological first aid, while reporting highlights rising adolescent risks linked to earlier smartphone use as cited by a Sapien Labs study.