Europe's Mental Health In The Spotlight
Commissioner for Health Androulla Vassiliou launches the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-Being at the High
Level Conference on Mental Health in Brussels today. This is the first conference to bring together ministers, experts,
patients, health professionals, researchers and high profile personalities and other stakeholders to agree future joint
actions to improve mental health in Europe.
The Pact is a call for partnership action. It recognises the health, social and economic benefits of good mental health
for all and the need to overcome the taboo and stigma still associated with mental illness. An estimated 11% of
Europeans experience some form of mental illness each year. Such disorders can lead to suicides, with one person every 9
minutes committing suicide in the EU.
To address this problem and to benefit from shared experience, ministers and experts from across Europe pledged to work
together and focus on 5 key areas: prevention of suicide and depression; mental health in youth and education; mental
heath in workplace settings; mental health in older people; combating stigma and social exclusion.
EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said: "Today, we in Europe, have raised our voices and spoken out about the
devastating effect that mental illness has on society. This Pact is a symbol of our determination in Europe to take up
the challenge and deliver action in our different areas of responsibility and across the health, education and labour
sectors. We need to act in partnership because mental health concerns us all."
A call for partnership in action – The European Pact for Mental Health and Well-Being
The pact is a call for partnership in action. It is launched by the European Commission in collaboration with the
Slovenian Presidency and the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe. The Pact recognises the challenges in
addressing mental health and suggests pooling knowledge from across the EU in order to develop commonly supported
recommendations for actions in 5 key areas:
* prevention of suicide and depression
* mental health in youth and education
* mental heath in workplace settings
* mental health in older people
8 combating stigma and social exclusion
A series of 5 consensus documents have been produced in cooperation with national ministries, practitioners and
researchers from several sectors. They highlight the current data, policies and state of the art on the subject, and
will support the implementation of the Pact, and a series of thematic conference planned over the next 2-3 years.
Europe's Diversity – good practice can inspire others
Mental health policies and actions across EU-countries are diverse. For instance, suicide rates are among the highest
worldwide in some Member States and among the lowest in others. They differ by the factor 12. Responses by Governments
and Nongovernmental actors such as patient groups and businesses reflect their specific needs, but may also encourage
and stimulate others in their actions.
Mental health in Europe – the facts
Depression is one of the most common and serious mental disorders. Data from western and southern EU Member States
indicate a lifetime prevalence of major depression in 9% of adult European men and 17% of adult European women. The
impact on quality of life can correspond to that of a severe physical illness, e.g. a severe stroke.
Suicide is a major cause of premature death in Europe, causing a total of 58,000 deaths in the EU in 2006, overtaking
traffic accidents which caused 50,000 deaths in the same year. 90% of suicides are associated with mental disorders.
The economic costs of depression in the EU were estimated to be 235 EUR per inhabitant in 2004, or € 118 billion in the
EU 25 and EFTA countries. Direct costs for health systems in Member States are high and create increasing challenges,
but 65%, the majority of costs, occur outside of the health sector, in particular through work absenteeism, work
disability and early retirement in the EU.
An estimated 50% of mental disorders have their onset during adolescence therefore organisations working with youth need
to be equipped to recognise symptoms and react quickly.
In our ageing society there is a strong need to and plan for the increasing prevalence of mental illness in the elderly
population both for age related mental illness such as dementia and depression due to weakened social support.
Background
The Conference and Pact is a follow up to the consultation on the Green Paper on Mental Health, which was presented by
the Commission in autumn 2005. More than 230 written contributions, including a European Parliament Resolution, and a
number of consultation meetings showed strong support for enhanced EU efforts to raise the visibility of mental health
as a priority and to create opportunities for exchange and cooperation in tackling common mental health challenges.
Website on mental health conference and links to the Pact and Consensus Papers:
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/mental_health_en.htm
ENDS