The Big Question: Can we really afford not to invest in mental health care?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) one in eight people in the world are living with a mental disorder. 

By comparison, that’s much more people than are diagnosed with breast cancer. One in 12 women will be diagnosed in their lifetime.

And, while not all mental health conditions are life-threatening, some of the most prevalent serious mental conditions such as schizophrenia (one in 300 people are affected) are among the leading causes globally of disability. 

On average, countries dedicate less than 2% of their healthcare budgets to mental health, without considering the financial impact underfunding care has on business and the economy.

In this episode of The Big Question, Nedim Pipic, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Mental Health at Boehringer Ingelheim sat down with Hannah Brown to discuss why we have to invest in mental health. 

How is mental health impacting the economy?

Most of us agree that we all deserve a happy and healthy life, but in a world driven by profits, is there a business case for better investment in mental health?

“Investments in mental health are not just in that area, if we do that well, it’s an investment in society, it’s an investment in our economy, and it’s also an investment for all those affected,” Nedim told The Big Question.

In fact, the stats to back it up are even more shocking than you might realise. 

Currently, across the world we are losing around $2.5tn (€2.3tn) per year due to poor mental health and productivity decline. 

Even something that seems as simple as a staff member taking sick leave can eventually cascade into a decline in business revenue linked to reputation loss and customer churn.

And if we don’t do something about it soon, we’re on track for the global losses to grow to $6tn (€5.4tn) by 2030 – a figure that equates to more than the GDP of Germany (the third largest economy in the world) or around one third of China’s GDP. 

What investment is needed in mental health?

Rates of education and employment are shown to drop at the time of diagnosis of a serious mental health condition – in the case of schizophrenia it drops to around 12%. (The average employment rate in the EU in 2023 was 75.3%). 

And, in a world where financial security and employment are closely interlinked and, according to a 2023 Eurobarometer survey, 53% respondents said financial security is a key part of good mental health – keeping people mentally healthy and employed seems to be good for people and for the economy. 

So what needs to be done to get us there?

According to Nedim, we need to first of all reduce stigma to help encourage more people to seek help. Education plays a huge role in this. 

“It’s just so hard to say: ‘This is a burden on me. Can you please help me?’” he explained. 

Currently for those who do seek it, in Europe only 70% are actually able to access mental health care and so investment is required just to have sufficient staffing and practitioners to handle the problem and create a better patient journey. 

While there are healthcare targets in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – SDG 3 aims to prevent needless suffering from preventable diseases and premature death – Nedim stressed that countries must take action on a national level. 

The estimated global funding gap for mental health right now is $200bn (€181.3 bn). While that’s a lot of money, it’s nowhere near the amount we’ll lose if we don’t invest in mental health.

While many of us might agree we shouldn’t put a price on good mental health, the maths suggest the price to pay isn’t that high, when the cost of not doing so is enormous on so many levels. 

The Big Questionis a series from Euronews Business where we sit down with industry leaders and experts to discuss some of the most important topics on today’s agenda.

Watch the video above for the full conversation with Boehringer Ingelheim.

Video editor • Joanna Adhem