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The Global Mental Health Crisis
Vikram Patel on what is driving the global mental health crisis — and how the world can respond.
The numbers are staggering. The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 8 people worldwide live with a mental health disorder; the Lancet’s 2026 Global Burden of Disease Study puts the figure close to 1.2 billion. Data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington show a 95% increase in mental health cases between 1990 and 2023 — and roughly 293 million children and young adults under 25 are affected.
What is it about modern society that is taking such…
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