1. Violence 

• Violence kills 4.4 million people each year globally; 726 million women globally (or nearly 1 in three) have been a victim of physical or sexual partner violence at least once in their life. 

2. Addiction

• In the past decade, substance use has risen 26% across the world, and hopeless individuals are starting to use substances at an earlier age. 

3. Mental Health

• Depression is the leading cause of global disability at an annual cost of US $1 trillion; In total, poor mental health was estimated to cost the world economy approximately $2·5 trillion per year in poor health and reduced productivity in 2010, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030. 

 4. Poverty

• The pandemic reversed 30 years of poverty reduction progress, marking the first increase in extreme poverty in a generation. COVID-19’s impact has led to global struggles with surging debt, inflation, trade tensions, and limited fiscal capacity, forseeing 575 million people living in extreme poverty by 2030. 

5. Climate Crisis

• Earth’s temperature has risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial levels and is projected to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius tipping point by 2035 subsequently increasing heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires, and rising sea levels. 

6. Displacement

• By May 2023, conflicts and human rights violations displaced 110 million people, with 35 million being refugees –the highest recorded figures. 

7. Education Crisis

• Underinvestment and learning losses foresee 84 million children out of school by 2030, and 300 million children or young people currently attending school will leave without basic literacy skills. 

8. Gender Inequality 

• With the current trajectory, it will take 286 years to close gender gaps in legal protection and eliminate discriminatory laws. 

9. Poor Health 

• Hopelessness is a predictor for unintentional injury and chronic health conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease and cancer); it impacts self-care during illness and increases the risk of comorbid conditions (e.g., obesity, substance misuse) contributing to poorer prognosis in conditions such as diabetes and chronic pain (de Faria et al., 2020; Everson et al., 1996; Katon, 2011; Tiesman et al., 2006; Pedersen et al., 2009) 

10. Workforce Costs

• Each year, employers face a cost of US $15,000 per employee with depression due to decreased productivity, healthcare expenses, and turnover, the greatest cost to the workplace. Depression leads to 11.5 days of diminished productivity every three months, affecting performance for half of every eight hour shift (NSC, 2023).