Global Opening Statement to World Mental Health Day
Statement on World Mental Health Day 2025 by Professor Tsuyoshi Akiyama, President of the World Federation for Mental Health
Mental health is a basic human right for all people.
Everyone, whoever and wherever they are, has a deserving and inherent right to the highest attainable standard of mental health.
This includes the right to available, accessible, acceptable and good quality care; and the right to liberty, independence and inclusion in the community.
Ethical Imperatives to Integrate Primary Health Care and Mental Health
Integrating mental health into primary care addresses health inequalities by making care accessible to more people, especially in resource-limited settings. Early detection and treatment of mental health conditions improve health outcomes and promote recovery.
By normalizing mental health care within a familiar primary care setting, integration can help reduce the stigma associated with seeking help for mental health problems.
Systemic Necessities
Primary care is the natural platform for addressing common mental health concerns. Integrating mental health services into primary care is a pragmatic response to the shortage of mental health specialists and limited access. When mental health is considered alongside physical health, primary care can provide more comprehensive and continuous care.
A broader approach to mental health in primary care should include the prevention of mental illness and the promotion of overall mental well-being.
Dehumanization
Dehumanization is a fearsome word, calling to mind the gravest atrocities of the past and present. People seen as less than human have suffered and suffer violence, deprivation, exclusion, and dispossession, and that suffering has been and is routinely ignored or minimized. … Being perceived as less than human may exacerbate an existing mental illness, but dehumanization might also be a risk factor for developing it.
Collaboration and the WFMH message
The world news reports countless catastrophes and emergencies. How are these catastrophes and emergencies affecting the mental health of human beings?
Is there sufficient access to services to sustain, if not improve, mental health?
The World Federation for Mental Health aims to collaborate with the Global Mental Health Action Network and all stakeholders to promote resilience and peace worldwide.