World Mental Health Day was first celebrated in 1990 by the United Nations General Assembly. Its purpose is to raise awareness about mental illness and promote research, prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Today, almost 1 billion people suffer from mental disorders, and in low-income countries, more than 75% of people with mental disorders do not receive treatment. Depression being one of the known mental illnesses, affects over 300 million people worldwide. According to the WHO, suicide is the second leading cause of death among young adults aged 15-29 years old.
In effort to prevent the spread of these mental illnesses, IHAO tries to deflect the affects through extensive awareness campaigns, providing psychosocial and mental support to beneficiaries in Youth, Adolescent Girls and Gender-Based Violence Prevention Centers all over Iraq.