Blog co-authored by the Stigma and Discrmination Working Group Co-Chairs on why tackling stigma and discrimination matters and what the evidence tells us about tackling this issue globally.

We had the privilege of organising a webinar focused on a crucial topic, “Integrating Effective Communication in Responding to the Mental Health Needs of War-Impacted Populations in Ukraine." This event was part of the monthly knowledge and information sharing sessions organised by the Action Network Communications working group.

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.

Embark on a journey of self-discovery and resilience as Dumi Gatsha, Co-Chair of the Mental Health and UHC Working Group, shares their personal experience with depression, burnout, and an unexpected bipolar diagnosis. Dumi’s candid reflection takes us through the historic context of Botswana's new mental health bill, challenging colonial legacies and addressing evolving discussions around human rights and inclusivity.

Written by Margianta Surahman Juhanda Dinata, Founder & Executive Director, Emancipate Indonesia on the impact being underpaid and overworked has on youth workers.

The Global Mental Health Action Network Annual Meeting 2023, bringing together delegates around the world to advance progress on mental health

How have countries for WHOs Special Initiative for Mental Health been chosen?

There is no formula to selecting countries under the WHO’s Special Initiative for Mental Health. One non-negotiable requirement is a commitment from a country’s Ministry of Health to work with WHO for at least 5-years, towards transforming mental health systems and systems, to ultimately increase the availability of mental health services across the country (or identified geographical areas).

I hope this helps - a global mental health documentary

We believe this film can be a powerful resource to support the awareness and advocacy work of others. To this end, we are very keen to work with any organisations who share our purpose and can help shape the film, ensuring it supports mental health campaigners around the world.

The WHO Special Initiative for Mental Health, launched in 2019, advances policies, advocacy and human rights, to rapidly scale-up quality interventions and services for people with mental, neurological and substance use conditions.

Countdown for Global Mental Health 2030 is a partnership between Global Mental Health @Harvard, WHO, UNICEF, the Global Mental Health Peer Network and United for Global Mental Health.

GMHAN is creating a global network where every campaigner and professional working in mental health has somewhere to go to access the support they need to make the change they want to see. We are delighted to share our 2023 Action Plan with you all, which highlights our ambitions, targets and ways of working for the year ahead.

The UHC working group of the Global Mental Health Action Network have produced a brief detailing their 8 key asks on integrating mental health into UHC.

The theme of World Mental Health Day 2022 was ‘Make Mental Health and Well-being a Global Priority for All.’ To realise this aspiration, we first need to recognise children and young people are a unique group, with their own particular psychological make-up and mental health needs.

Against a decade-long pattern of deteriorating mental health conditions among youth, Covid 19 pandemic made the situation far more worse. As per the Youth-led Action Research on Covid-19 pandemic on Marginalised Youth study, youth were forced to face the fear of losing their loved ones, stress, and anxiety over their future uncertainty, financial hardships, lack of opportunities and social isolation made them more vulnerable.

In 2022, we saw the largest gathering of our network to date, with over 600 participants from 77 countries across six virtual sessions of the GMHAN Annual meeting. As we look ahead to the planning of our 2023 Annual Meeting, we have listened to your feedback through our annual survey and other forums/channels and realise there is a big demand for us to convene in person once again!

To help us plan we would love to ask you some questions and get a better understanding of where, when and IF we should host our annual meeting in person in 2023.

For more than six decades the Bernard van Leer Foundation have worked to improve opportunities for young children and the people who care for them. Three years ago, we chose to pay more attention to caregivers’ mental health, recognizing its crucial role in giving babies and toddlers a good start in life. These are some of our insights with examples of how we have endeavoured with our partners to put our growing knowledge of mental health into action for the early years.

This year’s theme for World Mental Health Day was to make Mental Health & Wellbeing for all a Global Priority. Members of GMHAN around the world have raised our voices to demand both attention and action on mental health. Here are examples of what some of GMHAN’s 2200 members have done to celebrate World Mental Health Day 2022.

This year’s World Mental Health Day (WMHD) was observed with the theme “Make mental health and well-being for all a global priority”. This was an opportunity to highlight a pressing matter that is often neglected.

Mental health is a crucial issue for the well-being of an individual, however, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in every 8 people, or 970 million people around the world have mental health disorders.

Our network has always been about our members. People from different backgrounds, disciplines and lived experiences have been the inspiration for building a network that truly answers the complex needs of improving mental health worldwide.

As medical advances continue to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside entrenched and serious challenges, from the cost of living crisis to protracted conflicts to climate change; other priorities can be neglected in the face of such large issues.

That is why, World Mental Health Day on 10th October is such an appropriate opportunity to highlight the importance of mental health as an issue; and why this year’s theme, Making Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority, is so timely.