Manila - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday warned that disability, suicides and other problems associated with mental illness and disorders would continue to rise unless more action is taken to tackle the issue.

In marking World Mental Health Day, the Manila-based regional office of the WHO called for a "global effort to promote greater public awareness and understanding of mental health and mental illness."

The UN health agency stressed the need to scale up services and action, in particular in developing countries, to ensure that people have access to "information, personalized treatment and resources to assist them in all aspects of their recovery."

"There is no health without mental health," Shigeru Omi, WHO regional director of the Western Pacific, said in a statement. "We need to integrate mental health in primary health care."

"We need to reinforce partnerships, accelerate efforts, scale up interventions, increase investments towards providing services to those who do not have any - and the political will to see all this through," he added.

The WHO noted that mental disorders affect nearly 12 per cent of the world's population, and that approximately 450 million people or one in every four people experience a mental illness that could benefit from diagnosis and treatment.

It added that depression may soon be a leading cause of disability worldwide, and that someone dies by committing suicide every 40 seconds.

"However, mental health generally ranks low on the public health agenda, where it is forced to compete for scarce resources," the WHO said in a statement. "Services are often limited, underfunded, poorly distributed and inadequately staffed."

The WHO urged governments, multilateral agencies, donors, public health organizations, professionals and consumer groups to support its Mental Health Gap Action Programme, which aims to identify cost-effective interventions.

Omi said community and economic development programmes that reduce poverty, achieve economic independence, empower women, reduce malnutrition, increase literacy and education can also be used to restore and enhance mental health.

In a statement released from its headquarters in Geneva, WHO said more than 75 per cent of people suffering from mental disorders in developing countries receive no treatment.