The Hill: Want a safer, more prosperous world? Invest in mental health
Kathleen M. Pike, executive director and scientific co-director of the Global Mental Health Program at Columbia University

“…[T]he U.N. needs to recognize that untreated mental health problems increase risk for other illnesses and even decrease life expectancy. If the U.N. fails to prioritize mental health in the SDGs, it will not only be ignoring its own data and abandoning hundreds of millions of people worldwide who need care, but also sabotaging its ability to succeed with so many other goals given their intimate link to mental health. While few of us will be at the U.N. negotiating tables, all of us can take action by taking the issue to Ambassador Samantha Power, our U.S. representative to the U.N. … As the U.N. considers its global goals, its decision-makers must recognize … ignoring mental health is a recipe for disaster” (8/18).