UN agency to launch major report on new approaches to mental health disorders

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that its annual World Health Report will confront the problem of mental health disorders, culminating a yearlong campaign by the agency to address the issue.

The report promises to provide information on policy and treatment responses to mental and neurological disorders, which currently affect some 450 million people worldwide, according to WHO.

"While it is true that millions never seek or receive treatment for these disorders, the positive news is that appropriate and cost-effective treatments are available and that solutions to deal with the burden of mental health disorders do exist," the agency said in a statement released in Geneva.

The report, which will officially be launched by WHO Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland in Geneva on 4 October, brings together the latest information on mental and neurological disorders and their impact on societies, and discusses the policy options available to governments interested in managing the emerging burden of these illnesses in their countries.