The Silent Emergency: A Mental Health Crisis in the Americas

File photo: Sir Ronald Sanders.

By Sir Ronald Sanders

The Scope of the Crisis

Across the nations of the Americas, a silent emergency is suffocating hope, stealing futures, and exacting an unbearable toll in lives lost and potential squandered. That “silent emergency” is a mental health crisis which is growing, unrelenting, and still, tragically, hidden in plain sight.

More than 160 million people in the Americas – from Canada to Argentina with the Caribbean in between – live with a mental disorder. In 2021 alone, over 652,000 souls were lost to mental illness, substance abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, and suicide. Two of our nations rank among the ten with the highest suicide rates in the world. Each year, over 100,000 people die by suicide. Yet only one in five receives treatment.

A Crisis of Conscience and Commitment

But this is not just a health crisis. It is a crisis of conscience and commitment. It affects children, teenagers, and adults—crippling productivity, corroding public trust, and fracturing families. The stigma surrounding mental health acts like a shroud, keeping this problem out of sight and out of political reach. Silence is no longer an option.

The Situation in the Americas

Even the wealthiest nations in our hemisphere are under siege. In the United States, suicide remains the 11th leading cause of death. In 2023 alone, more than 49,300 Americans died by suicide—nearly 135 every day. Among high school students, nearly 40% experienced persistent sadness and hopelessness, while one in five seriously considered suicide. The wealth of the nation offers no immunity from the affliction of the mind.

In Canada, the picture is no less grim. In 2022, over 4,850 Canadians died by suicide—an increase of nearly 9% from the year before. In 2023, 34% of youth in Canada met the criteria for a mental health or substance use disorder. Among 2SLGBTQ+ youth, one in four experienced suicidal ideation within a single year.

The Caribbean and Latin America

If the most resource-rich countries are reeling from such devastation, how much more vulnerable are the smaller and less wealthy states of Latin America and the Caribbean? This crisis does not discriminate, but its consequences are heaviest where capacity is weakest.

The situation in the Caribbean is equally alarming. Guyana and Suriname report the highest and second-highest suicide rates in the Americas—40.8 and 25.9 per 100,000 population, respectively. Trinidad and Tobago ranks ninth in the Americas. Youth are particularly affected. Between 20% and 25% of adolescents in the English-speaking Caribbean experience symptoms of mental health problems.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sharp rise in mental health conditions across the Americas. The isolation of lockdowns, the sudden loss of human connection—even among family members—and the cruel denial of final farewells to loved ones who died alone from the virus, inflicted emotional wounds that have not healed. These experiences unleashed waves of depression, anxiety, and trauma that continue to ripple through societies.

A Call to Action

Worryingly, the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development found that mental health disorders were already on the rise globally even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The Commission issued a stark warning: if left unaddressed, mental health conditions could drain an estimated US$16 trillion from the global economy by 2030. Since that report, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) has tracked an alarming acceleration of mental health challenges in multiple regions, underscoring the scale and urgency of the crisis.

A Resolution to Confront the Crisis

It is against this sobering backdrop that Antigua and Barbuda has taken the lead in crafting a resolution at the Organization of American States (OAS) to confront the escalating mental health crisis across the Americas. Work is already underway in the OAS General Committee in preparation for the Organization’s General Assembly, which Antigua will host this June. This initiative aims to put real political weight behind an issue that, for far too long, has languished on the margins of regional political policy.

A Path Forward

We hope this resolution will serve as a call to arms, placing mental health where it belongs: at the centre of public policy and sustainable development. It builds on the foundation laid by the Pan American Health Organization’s 2022 Policy for Improving Mental Health and the 2023 Strategy for Improving Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, seeking to transform intention into action and frameworks into results.

Conclusion

At the OAS, I have been proud to lead Antigua and Barbuda’s effort to forge consensus among the nations of the Americas in support of this resolution. If we succeed, it will not be the first time that the smallest of voices has spoken the loudest to rally nations to do the right thing for all humanity. We are determined to make the OAS General Assembly in June a turning point – a moment when the countries of the Americas declare that the wellbeing of every mind is the bedrock of a just and prosperous future.

We want this Assembly to be remembered as one that did not turn away from uncomfortable truths, but chose to confront them with courage, compassion, and resolve. In the context of mental health, let it be said: the OAS did not flinch; it acted.

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS. He is also the Dean of the Ambassadors of the Western Hemisphere Group accredited to the U.S. The views expressed are entirely his own. Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the scope of the mental health crisis in the Americas?

A: The mental health crisis in the Americas affects over 160 million people, with more than 652,000 souls lost to mental illness, substance abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, and suicide in 2021 alone.

Q: How does the crisis affect different regions?

A: The crisis affects all regions, including the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean, with varying degrees of severity and impact.

Q: What is being done to address the crisis?

A: Antigua and Barbuda has taken the lead in crafting a resolution at the Organization of American States (OAS) to confront the escalating mental health crisis across the Americas, with the aim of placing mental health at the centre of public policy and sustainable development.