Universal Health Coverage Cannot Exist Without Mental Health: A Call to Bold Action

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a promise—that no one, regardless of where they live or how much they earn, is denied the healthcare they need. Yet, despite the aspiration, this promise remains incomplete because mental health continues to be undervalued, underfunded, and under-prioritised.

This must change. Not tomorrow. Not in five years. Now.

If we are serious about achieving UHC, we must be just as serious about mental health. It is not an afterthought, a luxury, or an optional addition to primary care—it is the foundation of overall well-being. Without it, we will never achieve true health equity, sustainable development, or economic progress.

This Is the Moment to Act

For too long, mental health has been pushed to the sidelines of UHC implementation. Despite the staggering numbers—over 1 billion people living with a mental health condition globally, yet less than 2% of most national health budgets allocated to mental health— policy responses remain sluggish, reactive, and insufficient. By 2030, mental illness is projected to account for over 18% of the total global disease burden, surpassing most other non-communicable and communicable diseases, and even higher in many LMICs where social determinants of health are exacerbating the emerging pandemic.

This is the defining moment to do more than acknowledge the problem. We must take bold, measurable steps to ensure mental health is fully embedded into UHC frameworks worldwide. This means:

Prioritising mental health in UHC benefit packages to eliminate financial and accessibility barriers to care.

• Building a global workforce of community-based mental health specialists—not as a band-aid solution, but as a permanent, sustainable force within healthcare systems.

• Leveraging technology to bridge access gaps, including both digital and telephone- based services, to ensure no community is left behind.

• Demanding urgent policy commitments from governments and global health institutions, ensuring that mental health is funded, integrated, and protected as a universal right.

A Movement, Not a Moment

This is why we are calling on governments, policymakers, funders, and advocates worldwide to take a stand.

Today, we invite you to sign the Open Letter on Mental Health and UHC—not as a symbolic gesture, but as a pledge to push for real, structural change. The letter calls for bold commitments that go beyond rhetoric, urging global leaders to recognise that UHC without mental health is not universal health coverage at all.

Meanwhile, our team at T2S C.A.R.E.S. is advancing a groundbreaking Proof of Concept (PoC) that seeks to demonstrate that scalable, cost-effective, and community-driven mental health solutions can transform the UHC landscape. This initiative is designed to:

• Train and deploy a multi-generational mental health workforce embedded within communities, leveraging both local expertise and remote global supervision.

• Integrate telehealth and telephone-based services to extend mental health support to underserved areas.

• Develop a scalable model that allows LMIC-trained specialists to provide cross- border services, meeting the growing demand for mental health care in high-income countries (HICs) with workforce shortages.

• Use a Realist Evaluation framework to analyse what works, for whom, and under what conditions, ensuring that lessons learned translate into long-term, evidence- based policies.

How You Can Support This Effort:

Sign the Open Letter and show your commitment to embedding mental health into UHC. 

Amplify this call—share the Open Letter with your networks, policymakers, and global health decision-makers. 

Join the movement—engage in the necessary policy conversations and action steps to ensure mental health is never sidelined again. 

Follow our work at T2S C.A.R.E.S. to learn more about how we are piloting solutions that could revolutionise the integration of mental health into UHC worldwide. 

Become a collaborative partner in our efforts to create access responsibly for everyone sustainably.

Join the efforts of the Global Mental Health Action Network’s UHC Working Group.

We Are Building a Future Where Mental Health Is Non-Negotiable

This is not just another campaign. This is the turning point. With your voice, your advocacy, and your action, we can build a future where mental health is not merely recognised, but prioritised—where mental health is seen, funded, and protected as the universal right that it is.

Sign the Open Letter today and help ensure that UHC truly means healthcare for all.

Written By Dr Spirit