The global $1 trillion mental health problem needs more funding
When a patient was diagnosed with schizophrenia, one of his immediate concerns was the stigma he might face: “I will lose the perception of being normal in my community – nobody wants to talk about mental illness. It’s not a fashionable topic.”
Members of international organizations that help patients with schizophrenia have also noticed that unfortunately, discrimination often extended into healthcare. “If you visit a physician and mention you live with schizophrenia, and then ask for help with a physical pain, the doctor will question whether the pain is real or not,” they explain.
These experiences are not unique. Ahead of the 2025 United Nations’ High-Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), we commissioned Economist Impact to conduct primary research to shed light on the mental health burden and the gaps in care. And according to Economist Impact’s "Rethinking mental health care: harnessing new approaches" report, commissioned by Boehringer Ingelheim, stigma is one of the main reasons those affected by mental health conditions can’t – and don’t – get support.
Of the nearly one billion people around the world who live with a mental health condition, only an estimated 30% of them have access to the help they need. Yet as experts interviewed note, there are fewer resources available “than what the burden of disease statistics should dictate.”
Stigma compounds the policy challenges in mental health
While there are varying degrees, Economist Impact reports that stigma remains an issue in all countries studied. For one, many patients may feel ashamed or hesitant to seek support, therefore delaying crucial treatment.
Underscoring this internalized stigma, however, is external discrimination. That includes not just public perception, but also the commitment to funding global plans, like the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 (SDG) to improve mental wellbeing and reduce suicide rates.
And though the conversation around mental health has increased since the pandemic, the report found that countries dedicate less than 2% of healthcare budgets to mental health on average. One expert notes: “Mental health is highly stigmatized, and as a consequence, it’s politically so much more complicated.”
Enabling innovation: the “inevitability” of precision medicine
Current estimates value the economic impact of the most common mental health conditions, at US$1 trillion annually. That number is set to grow to US$6 trillion in six years. Yet most innovation still don’t make it to widespread practice.
Personalized and precision care, which has become a reality in areas like cancer treatment, is still inaccessible to most patients. While still necessary, the approach of generalized treatment to alleviate some of the symptoms, doesn’t account for patients’ most burdensome symptoms, individual preferences, family history, past treatment responses and their comorbidities. Many living with mental health conditions often live with other chronic physical diseases. Not only are people with schizophrenia more than twice as likely to have multiple chronic diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that people with serious mental health conditions die “on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population, often of preventable physical diseases.”
Our goal is to significantly improve patients’ lives, which we can only do by putting their personal experiences and daily realities at the center. It considers the diverse and individual needs of a patient to ensure that not only is their treatment beneficial holistically, they’re also more likely to stay on the plan to ensure the best possible outcomes.
Partnering for better outcomes
However, personalized and precision care is still largely inaccessible. While the report notes that the public sector of many countries cannot afford to fund the newest approaches, collaborating and risk-sharing with companies that invest in mental health care to develop, test and implement new practices could enable greater access to innovative care.
We’re committed to supporting people living with serious mental illnesses; we plan to invest 35 billion euros towards health innovation for people living with NCDs across the world. And through our continued research, we're working on breakthrough therapies and digital solutions with our partners that help ease the burden on patients and families.
We look to a future where people have customized solutions for symptoms of their serious mental health conditions.
"Rethinking mental health care: harnessing new approaches" was commissioned by Boehringer Ingelheim.
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