Global Organizations Urge Financiers to Address $5 Trillion Cost of Mental Illness, Citing New Lancet Psychiatry Study

Over 150 organizations, led by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, have called on global financiers to invest urgently in mental health, highlighting the estimated US$5 trillion annual cost of mental illness to the global economy. This call is based on 'The Prague Agreement,' published today in World Psychiatry, and supported by a new study in The Lancet Psychiatry evaluating global suicide helpline services. The research indicates that over a billion people are affected by mental ill-health, with depression and anxiety alone costing roughly US$1 trillion annually.