There is no health without mental health – the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) enduring reminder takes on renewed urgency today. Globally, an epidemic is unfolding, claiming lives at an alarming pace. Over 1 billion individuals across the globe are lost to suicide or continue to live with severe mental health conditions without access to adequate care. These numbers are often dismissed as statistics, but what remains unseen are the lives behind them and the structural factors that lead to such devastating outcomes. Despite this, responses remain grossly inadequate.

Every year, October 10 is observed as World Mental Health Day by the WHO, serving as yet another reminder of the urgent need for awareness and destigmatisation. The 2025 theme highlighted mental health for those at the forefront of “natural disasters, conflicts and public health emergencies.” In an era marked by war, environmental crises and public health disasters, a central question persists: can mental health be prioritised when survival itself is at stake? This raises a deeper concern – do governments treat mental health as a right or as a privilege accessible to only a few?