Reflections from the WHO’s 154th Executive Board session
(Background: You can read a detailed and accessible summary on what is the meaning of the WHO Executive Board and Health Assembly on Circle.)
If there’s one key takeaway message for us in the global mental health space from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 154th Executive Board (EB) session, it is that mental health remains strong and central in the global health agenda but more action is needed to deliver better mental health for all.
The remarks by the WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the end of the agenda item on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) showed that there is still continuous support for and emphasis on mental health at the WHO’s highest levels. He called for an increase in investment in mental health, supported the notion that mental ill-health cannot be dealt with in institutions and that it should be mainstreamed in primary care and community settings, and reiterated the need to address stigma and help lift people from suffering in silence. The Director General’s comments reinforce the messages WHO is trying to convey to member states: rallying further attention and support for mental health during growing conflicts and deteriorating economic conditions.
In the same session, we heard several member states referring explicitly to the need for greater attention to mental health. This is important ahead of the planned 2025 United Nations High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of NCDs and Mental Health. This meeting plans to cover NCDs and mental health: how they need to be addressed together, as well as on distinct areas of action required, such as on the deinstitutionalisation of mental health care.
In addition, put forward by nine countries (Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Guatemala, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, and Ukraine), the draft resolution on “strengthening mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) before, during and after armed conflicts, natural and human-caused disasters and health and other emergencies” has been recommended to the World Health Assembly.
Mental health also featured strongly in the discussions around climate and health which took place towards the end of the week. A draft of the climate and health resolution was published on the Friday of the EB and noted by the EB on Saturday morning. The draft was proposed by eight countries (Barbados, Fiji, Kenya, Monaco, Netherlands, Peru, UAE, and UK) and there is a welcome inclusion of specific wording around mental health in the draft resolution which highlights how "increasingly frequent extreme weather events and conditions are taking a rising toll on people’s well-being, livelihoods and physical and mental health". This represents an important step forward from the 2008 version of this resolution, which did not include any mention of mental health. Intersessional negotiations between member states will continue ahead of the World Health Assembly in May.
Next Steps: We would love your comments and additions to expand on this reflection note from the WHO EB meeting over the next 2 weeks. It may be useful to familiarise yourselves with what these multilateral structures do and mean, we have a brief background post on Circle. Please write to us at secretariat@gmhan.org by February 23rd, with your thoughts on:
Did you follow the EB meetings? Did you note other issues of importance to global mental health?
What is the most important issue for you now within the priority items above (prevention and control of NCDs and mental health; MHPSS in emergencies; climate and mental health)? What is missing from the conversations?
Which of those priority issues would you like to learn more about?
How can those of you working at the national level help drive action internationally? What do you need from the Action Network to help you do this?
We will then aim to share with all of you an expanded blog from the Action Network, incorporating your contributions.
Thank you,
Antonis
