European Year for Mental Health: EACLIPT Co-Signs Call to the European Commission

Through an initiative led by GAMIAN and the European Parliaments MEP Alliance for Mental Health, EACLIPT has co-signed a call to the European Commission to emphasise the need for better mental health care. Here's the statement:

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The supporters of the MEP Alliance for Mental Health, the supporters of the European Parliament Coalition for Mental Health and Wellbeing and concerned stakeholders call on the European Commission to designate 2023 as the European Year for Mental Health.

Making mental health everybody's businesss

Mental ill health affects more than one in six people across the European Union in any given year, with atotal cost of over EUR 600 billion - or more than 4% of GDP - across the 28 EU countries. (1) It can affect persons of any age and in a variety of forms and has costs and consequences that impactindividuals, families and carers, health and social systems, employers, communities and the economy. Poor mental health is consistently associated with unemployment, social and economic inequality, low income or standard of living, poor physical health challenging life events, poor quality of life and stigma. Mental health conditions are the fastest growing current health burden: long-term mental healthproblems are responsible for 1/3 of all disabiltiies, for 15% of inpatient costs and for a quarter of all medicinecosts.

Now is the time to take action!

Given the above, mental health should be a policy priority. However, mental health and related policieshave been accorded relatively low priority across the EU. The EU-level itself is no longer taking specific initiatives on mental health. NOW is the time to take action: the COVID-19 pandemic has truly put the spotlight on mental health and its importance. (2) Rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness and addiction, already increasing as a consequence of the pandemic and related measures taken, will only increase further as a result of the predicted economic and employment uncertainty. Moreover, the pandemic has revealed systemic problems in the way society addresses and supports mental health, as services have not been able to keep up with growing demand.

These issues are prominent at this point - and will become even more so in a post-COVID future, posing further challenges. We recognise the limited remit in the field of mental health at EU level. However, the EU shouldmake use of the tools that it does have at its disposal; designating a European Year is one of thosetools. The undersigned would welcome the opportunity to discuss this initiative further with theEuropean Commission. (1) Health at a Glance report 2018 (2) Health at a Glance report 2020. Please endorse the statement here.

Endorsing Members of the European Parliament

• Alex Agius Saliba MEP

• Estrella Dura Ferrandis MEP

• Radka Maxova MEP Maria Walsh MEP

• Tomas Zdechovsky MEP

• Alvina Alametsa MEP

• Brando Benifei MEP

• Cristian Silviu Busoi MEP

• Tudor Ciuhodaru MEP

• Katalin Cseh MEP

• Josianne Cutajar MEP

• Sylvie Guillaume MEP

• Jaroslaw Duda MEP Lucia Duris Nicholsonova MEP

• Cyrus Engerer MEP

• Soraya Rodriguez MEP

• Sara Cerdas MEP Tilly Metz MEP Marco Campomenosi MEP

• Francesca Donato MEP

• Tanja Fajon MEP Gianna Gancia MEP

• Seán Kelly MEP

• Kateřina Konečná MEP Katrin Langensiepen MEP

• Susana Solis Perez MEP

• Sylwia Spurek MEP

• Pernille Weiss MEP

• Rosa Estaras Ferragut MEP

• Juozas Olekas MEP

• Heidi Hautala MEP

• Stelios Kympouropoulos MEP

• Eva Maydell MEP Petri Sarvamaa MEP

• Aldo Patriciello MEP

• Sirpa Pietikainen MEP

• CarolineRoose MEP

• Tomislav Sokol MEP

• Hermann Tertsch MEP

• Romana Tomc MEP

Endorsing individuals and organisations

ZpMa2X-statement-EuropeanYearforMentalHealth

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