World Mental Health Day: Theme for 2020 focuses on increasing investment on psycho-social support amid pandemic

World Mental Health Day 2020: World Mental Health Day, observed every year on 10 October, aims to create awareness about mental health issues around the world. The day also provides a platform and opportunity for people who work on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what needs to be done to make mental healthcare a reality for citizens around the world. With the COVID-19 pandemic changing our lives considerably, mental health has become even more important. The last few months have created a number of challenges for healthcare workers, who are required to provide care during these trying circumstances. Students are also facing issues with having to adapt to a new way of education. The past few months have also seen people with mental health conditions experiencing even greater social isolation than before. Given the circumstances, it is expected that the need for mental health and psycho-social support will substantially increase in the coming months and years. Thus, the goal of this year’s World Mental Health Day campaign is increased investment in mental health. World Mental Health Day 2020 theme According to World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) the theme for World Mental Health Day 2020 is ‘Mental Health for All: Greater Investment – Greater Access’. WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated the world is accepting the concept of universal health coverage and that mental health must be an integral part of UHC. “Nobody should be denied access to mental health care because she or he is poor or lives in a remote place,” he added. The theme stresses on the fact that mental health is a human right and that it is time mental health is made available to all. History of World Mental Health Day First observed on 10 October, 1992, World Mental Health Day was just observed as an annual activity of the World Federation for Mental Health and had no specific theme. However, in 1994, at the suggestion of then-Secretary General Eugene Brody, a theme for the day was used for the first time. The very first theme of the day was “Improving the Quality of Mental Health Services throughout the World.” Significance of World Mental Health Day In an interaction with Times Now, Dr Roma Kumar, chief psychologist and co-founder of the website emotionally.in stated that a healthy emotional life is primarily a matter of how a person’s mind processes, understand information, experiences and knowledge regarding mental health. According to Dr Roma, being emotionally fit is the key to success in all aspects of life.