G20 Short-Term Action Group 2024
As the Global Mental Health Action Network, we have formed a Short-Term Action Group (STAG) focused on mental health at the G20 (as well as engagement at the C20 civil society official engagement group), to mobilise our members on this important influencing forum.
Our Focus
The G20 is an annual international forum for dialogue and coordination on economic, social, development, and international cooperation issues. It brings together leaders from major economies to address global challenges and foster collaboration. India hosted the last G20 edition in 2023. Brazil assumed this year’s presidency, and South Africa will take the helm in 2025, followed by the USA in 2026.
The members of the G20 represent around 85% of the world's GDP, more than 75% of world trade and around two-thirds of the world's population. Initially, the G20 focused mainly on general macroeconomic issues, but expanded its agenda to include topics such as trade, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, the environment, climate change and the fight against corruption.
Led by our members in Brazil in 2024, we are coordinating advocacy and making recommendations in alignment with Brazilian G20 goals to eradicate poverty and inequality by stimulating sustainable development, balancing economic growth with social well-being and environmental protection and to contribute to reshaping global governance structures to be more inclusive, transparent, and effective in addressing global challenges.
The G20 Brazil Priorities:
The fight against hunger, poverty and inequality.
The three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental).
The reform of global Governance.
In this context, we are mobilizing a broad impact collective led by the Global Mental Health Action Network, Vertentes Ecossistema de Saúde Mental, and SoulBeeGood. This coalition aims to implement awareness campaigns and advocacy efforts at the G20 Brazil 2024. Collaborating with Catalyst 2030 and Catalyst 2030 Brazil, we seek to establish ambitious commitments to prioritize investment in mental health, particularly for children, adolescents, and youth.
Our Impact
In this edition of the G20, Mental health and Climate Change have been highlighted as an Urgent topic, mostly of children and adolescents, in several forums and Working Groups as a critical public health and sustainable development issue during the consultation process in the first semester.
Our collective efforts to mobilize the G20 on the Mental Health Agenda are already making an impact. We have successfully implemented a mental health prioritisation pledge in the G20 Sustainable Financing document.
The G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group* has adopted our recommendation under its work towards building fair, robust and credible transition plans in a context of structural inequalities on a global scale. Its recommendation 2.10 in June 2024 is attributed to the Global Mental Health Action Network: “Prioritise Mental Health Investment in Global Transition plans to alleviate the psychological burden, increase resilience, productivity and facilitate environmentally sustainable and socially just transitions.”
Our Policy Brief is included in the Appendix of the Working Group’s official document of recommendations published in June 2024.
* The Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) strives to secure sustainable finance as a means of ensuring global growth and stability, promoting transitions to greener, more resilient and inclusive societies and economies. The Group's mission is to identify institutional and market barriers to these finances; to develop alternatives for overcoming these obstacles; and to aid better alignment of the international financial system with the goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. Formally established in 2021, the SFWG's created a roadmap for Green Finance, establishing a series of axes, initiatives and goals to be pursued by member countries. Each country's progress in relation to the criteria established in the Roadmap is published annually and is accessible to the public.
Children in G20
For the second semester of 2024 we are mobilising the Global Mental Health Action Network ecosystem and local advocacy organisations and representatives to develop a coordinated advocacy strategy for prioritising mental health investments, especially in children, adolescents and youth in all policies including in climate and environment adaptation plans.
We are proud to be supporting the Children in G20 initiative, alongside a range of international and national partner organisations. We co-hosted an important event in New York in September 2024, on the occasion of the 79th UN General Assembly and Summit of the Future, generously supported by the Child Mind Institute. At this event, we launched the Children in G20 Policy Pack and set the foundations for a path forward to institutionalise a children’s group at the G20. The aim is to launch the initiative now during G20 Brazil with continuity into G20 South Africa next year, G20 USA in 2026, and beyond.
The Action Network has been a very powerful collective for impact movement to build this common agenda, influence the final summit in November, and also to prepare the transition to South Africa in 2025. This Global reach and action are key to assure that the G20 final recommendations includes Mental Health prioritization in all policies.
Recommended links:
Beto Carvalho, Investing in future minds through a children’s lens.
Science 20 approves document for G20 leaders on social justice in science.
Children in G20 UNGA side event.
Key G20 Civil Society Working Groups:
G20 for Impact - Recommendations to the SFWG Finance Track
Civil Society Working Group - C20
We are posting regular updates and the impacts of this work on our Circle online community. If you are interested in following this work, please first ensure you are a member of the Global Mental Health Action Network by Signing up here, and email the Secretariat at admin@gmhan.org. This STAG is of particular interest to members in Brazil, India, South Africa and the USA, but members across any G20 country or region with relevant expertise and enthusiasm can join.