People with mental disorders face an alarming range of human rights abuses in countries throughout the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. It called on all people to make efforts to improve the situation.

WHO is dedicating International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10 to people with mental disorders and violations of their basic human rights.

Misunderstanding and stigma surrounding mental ill health are widespread, the United Nations agency said in a statement.

"There are still far too many violations of the human rights of people with mental disorders. However, too often both the health and human rights agendas overlook these problems, and as a result, they slip between the cracks," said WHO Director General Lee Jong-wook.

"We have solutions to reverse the situation, in rich and poor countries alike. I urge countries, international organizations, academia, the healthcare and legal sectors and others to take a hard look at the conditions of people with mental disorders and take action to promote and protect their rights," he added.

More than 450 million people throughout the world have mental, neurological or behavioral problems, according to WHO. But the majority of these people do not receive human rights protection or appropriate mental health treatment and care because of the low priority given to mental health.

For example, 64 percent of countries do not have any mental health legislation, or, that which exists is out-of-date; 30 percent of countries lack a specified budget for mental health, 20 percent spend less than 1 percent of their total health budget on mental health.

Source: Xinhua