Off the wire
• EU might extend support to farmers hit by Russian ban: commissioner  • EU not to let TTIP weaken food safety standards: agriculture commissioner  • Roundup: British EU referendum campaign period officially begins  • Roundup: Finnish economy climbs out of quagmire, shows signs of slow recovery  • UN General Assembly to hold high-level session on countering world drugs problem  • Hannover upset Monchengladbach in German Bundesliga  • Spotlight: U.S. activists protest against big money in politics on Capitol Hill  • Roundup: TV appearance of French president meets mixed reactions  • Most Americans say rich people do not pay enough in taxes: Gallup  • Slovenia starts sending aid to Greece  
You are here: 　 Home

Chile has world's highest rate of depression: WHO official

Xinhua, April 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 17 percent of Chile's population suffer from depression, the highest rate in the world, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said here Friday, citing a WHO study published on The Lancet.

This is the reason "why we feel a law (to address mental health) is necessary," said Roberto Aguila, the WHO's representative in the South American country, at a press conference.

In Chile, 26 percent of work absences due to medical reasons are related to mental health, Aguila said, citing the report.

The study also provides detailed estimates of the economic advantages that public investment on mental health will bring to countries.

"Investment (in worldwide mental health) is returned four times through gains in productivity and the well-being of workers," the representative said.

At the moment, governments only spend 3 percent of their healthcare spending on mental health, with developed countries spending an average of 5 percent but emerging economies only 1 percent, according to the WHO figures.

The study, entitle "Scaling-Up Treatment of Depression and Anxiety: A Global Return on Investment Analysis," was published in The Lancet, a well-known weekly medical journal on April 13. Enditem