Depression is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease and affects people in all communities across the world.

Depression simply takes people to the bottomless tunnel of hopelessness and drop them there without giving them any form of respite, signs of light at the end or possibility of coming out of the tunnel.

Today, depression is estimated to affect 350 million people. The World Mental Health Survey conducted in 17 countries found that on average about 1 in 20 people reported having an episode of depression in the previous year.

Depressive disorders often start at a young age; they reduce people’s functioning and often are recurring. For these reasons, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide in terms of total years lost due to disability.

The demand for curbing depression and other mental health conditions is on the rise glob-ally. A recent World Health Assembly called on the
World Health Organization and its member states to take action in this direction (WHO, 2012).