On a global scale, the magnitude of undiagnosed and unaddressed mental health problems remains high. An estimated 330 million people suffer from depression, 50 million from epilepsy, 37 million from Alzheimer's disease and 24 million from schizophrenia.
Depression is a major contributor to suicide deaths. About one million people worldwide commit suicide every year, and approximately 20 million attempt it. In the United States, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death — every 17 minutes another person ends their life.
According to a World Bank study, mental health problems are a major cause of lost years of quality life. In spite of that, allocations to treat mental health problems in national health budgets are disproportionately small in relation to other diseases and the serious health consequences they pose.