This month’s special issue of Rotary magazine is all about happiness, that most elemental of human yearnings. More than a feeling, though, this state of positive well-being, and the conditions necessary to create and sustain it, should be considered a universal right.
December also marks Rotary’s Disease Prevention and Treatment Month, when we highlight our members’ work to promote health and wellness, including mental wellness. Globally, nearly 1 in 7 people have a mental health disorder, according to a recent World Health Organisation report. Yet only 9 per cent of people with depression receive adequate treatment.
We are fortunate in Rotary to have a powerful way to support emotional well-being and happiness: friendship. The connections we build in Rotary can be a powerful force for change. I know this from personal experience.
When my fellow members first proposed that I become club president, I demurred. I had a stutter. I was terrified of speaking. But having club members who supported me and surrounded me with affection enabled me to face my fear, and I found a way to stand confidently before a crowd.
Today, I regularly address audiences — some numbering in the thousands — in a language that is not native to me. The Rotary members in my life helped me create lasting change within myself.
That fellowship gives us the courage and means to create lasting change in the world as well, and mental health services are in desperate need of improvement. The WHO reports that governments on average devote only 2 per cent of their health budgets to mental health, and only 11 per cent of that funding reaches community-based services. In some countries, only one trained mental health professional is available for every 100,000 people. The WHO has called for strategic and urgent action to close the gap.
Rotary can answer that call by championing mental health awareness in our clubs, working with local health systems, funding training for community health workers, and supporting initiatives that bring care to places where none exists. Even small investments in mental health yield enormous returns in productivity, public health and happiness.
While we are creating lasting change in the world, we cannot forget to take care of each other. Past RI President Gordon McInally wisely reminds us that we must go beyond asking, “How are you?” We owe it to each other to instead ask, “How are you really?”
As we transition to a new year filled with new possibilities, let us Unite for Good — for healing, friendship, and access to happiness.
Francesco Arezzo
President, Rotary International