Why We Should All Back the Kigali Youth Declaration and the Call to Lead
Mental health touches everyone, everywhere. The reality is that despite this, it continues to be underfunded, overlooked, and isolated from broader health and development agendas. Mental Health cannot continue to be dismissed as an afterthought. Truly prioritising mental health means recognising its importance and impact across every stage of life, in every region, and in every community.
The Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN), with over 6,000 members worldwide, plays a vital role in elevating this shared concern and connecting grassroots energy to global advocacy. As we approach the Fourth High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (HLM4) in September 2025, there is a real opportunity to secure meaningful commitments that prioritise mental health in the global NCD response.
Two key advocacy tools can help make that happen: the Kigali Youth Declaration and The Call to Lead on NCDs. Both speak directly to governments, calling for stronger commitment, inclusion, and investment in NCDs—mental health included. And both need your support.
Youth voices are leading the way
In February 2025, over 80 youth advocates from more than 35 countries gathered at the Global NCD Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. They came together not only to connect and build solidarity, but to develop a common message for decision-makers. The result was the Kigali Youth Declaration, a powerful statement from a new generation of leaders demanding space, respect, and meaningful participation in shaping health policy.
Mental health featured prominently. The Declaration calls for increased investment in youth-friendly services, for integrating mental health into education and primary care, and for involving young people with lived experience in decisions that affect their lives. It challenges tokenism and insists on real partnership/engagement.
The Call to Lead: Three Actions All Governments Must Take
At the same time, civil society around the world is uniting behind The Call to Lead on NCDs—a global petition urging governments to take meaningful, measurable action on noncommunicable diseases, including mental health. The campaign highlights three essential actions every government must take:
Mobilise investment by increasing sustainable funding for health, including clear, measurable financing targets for NCD strategies. This includes making the most of win-win approaches such as health taxes and other fiscal measures that improve health and raise revenue.
Accelerate implementation by scaling up proven, cost-effective policies to reduce exposure to NCD risk factors; integrating NCD prevention and care into person-centred health systems and UHC benefit packages; and ensuring access to essential medicines, technologies, and services.
Deliver accountability by regularly tracking progress and reporting to citizens and the global community. This means updating national targets through 2030 and beyond and embedding NCD commitments in the post-SDG agenda.
These actions are achievable—and urgent. By linking youth demands with this civil society-driven campaign, we can make sure mental health is recognised as a priority for political action.
How to get involved
Whether you’re part of a network, an organisation, or working as an individual advocate, your voice matters. You can support this movement in three key ways:
Endorse and share The Call to Lead.
Share the Kigali Youth Declaration and amplify the demands of young leaders.
Raise your voice ahead of the UN Multi-Stakeholder Hearing in May, and in the lead-up to the UN HLM in September, making sure your voice is heard by your local leaders.
Leadership on mental health starts with showing up, speaking out, and standing alongside those already doing the work. These two declarations give us a way to do just that. By endorsing these documents you are saying clearly that now is the time to lead.
Gina Sanchez, PhD
Global Week for Action on NCDs, Campaign Coordinator