Mental health challenges impact nearly one billion individuals worldwide, placing significant strain on both economies and societies. The cost of mental health conditions is projected to rise to $6 trillion USD globally by 2030, making the economics of mental health more financially impactful than that of cancer, diabetes, and respiratory ailments combined. The social toll is even more profound: access to care remains fractured, with up to 90 percent of individuals with severe mental health conditions in many countries receiving no treatment. As a result, mental health is a rising priority in many nations.

The advancement of mental health was a major focus at three 2024 Milken Institute events: the Global Investors' Symposium in Mexico City, the Asia Summit, and the Middle East and Africa Summit. Leaders from across sectors and regions came together to discuss:

• national regulations and the development of mental health legislation to protect privacy
• technology solutions to expand access through digital health
• reframing mental health with public messaging to reduce stigma
• strengthening employer-led efforts to improve network adequacy and promote psychological safety

While common themes are emerging globally, regional approaches to mental health treatment and prevention vary widely in interpretation, implementation, and engagement.

Insights from Latin America

Approximately 29 percent of Mexican adults aged 18 to 65 have experienced a mental health condition at least once in their lives. Given this high prevalence, leaders in Mexico have spearheaded several national efforts to prioritize mental health in recent years. Key developments include:

• adoption of 2019 Mexican Health and Safety regulations, referred to as NOM-035, requiring every company operating in Mexico to create a plan accounting for the psychosocial stressors employees face
• successive proposals through the National Development Plan 2025–2030 to enhance mental health support and further incorporate technology to improve access to care
• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has consistently emphasized mental health as a core health agenda during her six-year term, beginning in 2024

Despite this progress, challenges remain in accessibility, funding, and social perception. Employees working for large employers (500+ employees) have access to a substantially more extensive network of health-care providers than employees at smaller to mid-sized companies, which make up 68 percent of Mexico’s employer population. Just 22 percent of Mexicans believe the country’s health-care systems treat mental and physical health equally.

These national efforts have signaled a broader call to action for individual leaders, businesses, and community organizations in Mexico (and across Latin America) to step up and implement solutions within their reach.

Insights from Asia and the Pacific Region

Digital health has been at the forefront of efforts to expand the mental health provider workforce across Singapore and Southeast Asia, including the publication of a Milken Institute report, Framing the Issues: Digital Mental Health in Asia. Mental health and substance use disorders remain a pressing issue for individuals and employers in the region, with 40 percent of health care costs paid out of pocket, through national or employer-sponsored insurance.

Singapore’s National Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy has driven regional progress, including:

• establishment of the Office for Healthcare Transformation in 2018 to drive system-level change, including the development of digital technology and data science platforms.
• the 2020 launch of mindline.sg, a digital mental health and wellness platform offering assessments, resources, and anonymous peer support.
• expansion of mental health services in 2024 through adding 900 primary care clinics to Singapore’s mental health community care network, increasing public subsidies through individual MediSave accounts, and updating underwriting practices for mental health histories

Regionally, Australia has allocated $588 million AUD over eight years to create an online digital mental health system that utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy for low-intensity treatments.

Insights from the Middle East

Mental health conditions account for more than twice the global disease burden (5 percent) in many Middle Eastern countries, where access to care differs greatly from regions like Mexico and Singapore.

The United Arab Emirates has embarked on major efforts to strengthen mental health, including:

• launching the National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031 in 2019, with 90 initiatives across various levels, including the development of a National Wellbeing Observatory to track health outcomes, social cohesion, and the development of other performance-based metrics integrated into government work
• passage of Federal Mental Health Law No. 10 in 2023, overseeing the treatment and safeguarding of patients’ rights, including codifying both protection from termination and the right to privacy, and recommending the creation of  Employee Assistance Programs, as well as oversight committees
• formation of the first Emirati Advisory Doctors Committee in late 2024, charged with creating an ongoing platform for health-care providers to assess the landscape and address areas for improvement, including within mental health

Regionally, Saudi Arabia has also introduced the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan framework, which incorporates the development of a national mental health strategy, increases in public funding for mental health services, and promotion of an awareness campaign to reduce stigma.

Conclusion

Leaders around the world have a shared opportunity to shape national mental health frameworks and expand existing avenues for treatment and prevention through government policy, public investment, private sector support, and coordinated implementation and enforcement efforts.

Utilizing financing and policy levers to expand the access and affordability of mental health care, encourage the adoption of digital health technology, and reduce the disinformation that has elevated stigma remains paramount. Each region is prioritizing mental health in different ways to best meet the needs of its residents. The necessity for comprehensive and sustainable mental health treatment (and a continued emphasis on prevention for the entirety of a country’s populace) has never been greater and only continues to intensify amidst an ever-changing economic and social environment.