Public mental health: a WPA priority and key opportunity to address implementation failure

Mental health conditions (MHCs) account for a large proportion of global disease burden and result in broad impacts and associated economic costs. Despite the existence of effective public mental health (PMH) interventions, only a minority of individuals with MHCs receive treatment, far fewer receive interventions to prevent associated impacts, and there is negligible coverage of interventions to prevent MHCs or promote mental wellbeing and resilience. This implementation failure results in population-scale preventable suffering, broad impacts and associated economic costs, which are far greater in low- and middle-income countries. The gap also breaches the right to health and statutory legislation in some countries. The World Psychiatric Association has prioritised PMH and highlighted how a set of coordinated actions can improve PMH implementation, including by effectively making the PMH case, PMH practice, PMH training and improved population knowledge, settings-based and integrated approaches, digital technology, maximising existing resources, use of interventions with a large population impact, a rights approach and legislation, and implementation-focused research. Improved implementation results in broad population impacts, achievement of policy objectives across sectors and sustainable reduction in the impact of MHCs and promotion of population wellbeing. The associated economic benefits make PMH a key part of sustainable economic development.