Over One Billion Minds in Crisis: Why We Must Scale Mental Health Services—Now

Written By Breakfast Leadership

As world leaders prepare for the UN High‑Level Meeting in New York on September 25, 2025, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new data delivers a wake‑up call: more than one billion people globally are living with mental health conditions—and many are being left behind. In my work on workplace burnout, culture, and retention, this seismic report confirms what I see every day: without systemic change, individuals and organizations can’t thrive.

The Unsettling Scope of the Crisis

The WHO’s twin 2 September 2025 releases—World Mental Health Today and Mental Health Atlas 2024—reveal urgent truths: anxiety and depression are among the most widespread conditions, responsible for economic losses of around US $1 trillion each year from lost productivity and healthcare costs (Breakfast Leadership Network, World Health Organization, World Health Organization).

Worse still, suicide claimed an estimated 727,000 lives in 2021, making it a leading cause of death among young people. On the current trajectory, global efforts will have achieved only a 12% reduction by 2030, far short of the UN’s goal of a one‑third drop (World Health Organization).

Equity Gaps Are Widening

Despite the glaring need, investment remains stagnant. Just 2% of total health budgets are dedicated to mental health—unchanged since 2017 (World Health Organization). High‑income countries spend around US $65 per person, compared to a staggering US $0.04 in low‑income nations (World Health Organization).

Workforce shortages compound the problem—there are only 13 mental health workers per 100,000 people on average, with even fewer in less affluent countries (World Health Organization). Less than 10% of nations have embraced community‑based models, leaving institutional psychiatric care as the default, often involuntary, and long‑term (World Health Organization).

Why These Findings Matter for Workplace Culture

At the Breakfast Leadership Network, we’ve long argued that mental health isn’t a fringe HR issue—it’s the bedrock of a thriving organization. Research aligns with the WHO’s findings: when companies prioritize mental wellness, they enjoy lower turnover, fewer sick days, and stronger cultures (Breakfast Leadership Network).

But the challenge goes deeper: chronic stress, blurred boundaries, and “always‑on” expectations are fueling emotional exhaustion. In my article Avoid Burnout: Rethinking the 'Always‑On' Mentality, I warned that constant connectivity corrodes well‑being—manifesting in anxiety and even suicidal thoughts (Breakfast Leadership Network). Meanwhile, remote work’s dissolution of boundaries can exacerbate mental health decline in the absence of intentional support design (Breakfast Leadership Network).

Strategies Rooted in Leadership

Here are action steps that align with WHO’s global call for urgent scale‑up and deliver real impact in organizations:

  1. Boost Mental Health Investment
    Allocate a meaningful portion of your organizational budget—consider it an investment, not an expense. Support therapy, mindfulness programs, and peer support systems. As noted in our 6 Ways to Embrace Mental Health in Your Company, accessible benefits can shift culture and retention (World Health Organization, Devex, Breakfast Leadership Network).

  2. Embed Culture That Prioritizes Mental Well‑Being
    Culture is your control lever. In Influencing Company Culture & Improving Mental Health, I shared how leaders can cultivate trust, inclusion, and balance to buffer against burnout (Breakfast Leadership Network).

  3. Recognize Burnout as a Systemic Issue
    Burnout isn’t a personal failing—it’s a symptom of flawed systems. Enabling time off, modeling work‑life balance, and encouraging psychological flexibility can shift norms, as explored in Mental Health Impact of Burnout (Breakfast Leadership Network).

  4. Scale Access to Care Through Telehealth and Community
    The WHO underscores the urgent need for community-based and accessible care models. In organizations, this can translate into virtual counseling, digital mental health tools, and wellbeing communities—mirroring the global shift toward outreach and equity.

  5. Leverage Data to Track Impact and Gaps
    Just as the Mental Health Atlas 2024 measured coverage across countries, companies must track mental health metrics: referral rates, uptake of benefits, and employee sentiment—then reinforce success or course‑correct based on outcomes.

We Have No Time to Wait

This WHO report arrives at a pivotal moment. With global systems under strain, mental health must cease to be an afterthought—and especially a hidden cost absorbed by employees and families. Transforming mental health care, Dr Tedros reminds us, is about investing in people, communities, and economies—“an investment no country can afford to neglect” (World Health Organization, World Health Organization).

To leaders globally: the logic is simple. If we don’t act today—if we don’t build equitable access, reinforce community‑based care, de‑stigmatize mental health, and reshape workplace systems—we will pay higher costs tomorrow. Across cultures and economies, mental health is not a privilege—it is a basic human right and a strategic imperative for resilience.

Supporting Sources Used:

Breakfast Leadership
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