Depression a "global crisis": Secretary-General

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Depression is a global crisis, says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message on World Mental Health Day observed on 10 October.

According to the World Health Organization, some 350 million people of all ages, incomes and nationalities suffer from depression.

Dianne Penn reports.

The Secretary-General says in the most extreme cases of depression, people kill themselves, with approximately one million committing suicide every year.

In addition, he says, for people living in less developed countries, or in poor areas of developed countries, services to treat depression, including psycho-social interventions and medicines, are not always accessible or affordable.

The Secretary-General says all can act to remove the stigma surrounding depression.

The first critical step in removing barriers to treatment, he adds, is for people to admit that they have experienced depression and to reach out to those experiencing it now.

Duration: 41″