Burnt Out: On the State of Iraq’s Mental Health

Assafir Arabi
Jun 27, 2024

Burnt Out: On the State of Iraq’s Mental Health


Iraq allocates merely 2% of its health sector’s budget to mental health, while the health sector itself receives no more than 5% of the three-year public budget (for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025). Despite the fact that, according to the World Health Organization, every 1 USD invested in scaling up treatment of common mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, yields a 5 USD return in improved health and ability to work, Iraq falls short from advancing this sector.