There has been a historic neglect in funding for mental health. Less than 2% of health budgets is spent on mental health globally, and this is less than 1% in low-middle income countries. COVID-19 has had a devastating impact around the world, and has made this issue more critical than ever. 

Today we are excited to delve into childhood mental health, particularly as this has become more serious in recent months and years. Now is an especially critical time for the global community to elevate the importance of childhood mental health and take joint action to optimise impact.

With the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (Spring Meetings) fast approaching, the secretariat and finance working group members of the Global Mental Health Action Network have been working to ensure mental health takes a leading role on the global stage. 

Speakers included Gulli Schinina (IOM), Monica Blotevogel (Coreszon), Juliet Cohen (Freedom from Torture), David Karorero (Youth Activist and Founder of Burundian Youth for a Brighter Future).

Why should we be interested in the mental health of prisoners? A society is known by the way it looks after its vulnerable, including those in prisons. There is considerable data on this issue - 66% of the population in US prisons has psychiatric disorders, and it is undoubtedly the case in other areas of the globe.

Last time we looked at different human rights challenges in mental health, such as biomedical approaches, institutionalisation, lack of community support, and lack of participation of those with lived experience. Today we will look at the agenda for change, and the opportunities coming up this year.

In recent years, but especially since the pandemic, the  issue of mental health has occupied an important place on the global agenda. However critical voices, particularly in the disability and human rights movements, insist that efforts may be futile if mental health systems do not fully incorporate human rights, and that the lack of attention on human rights may risk scaling up the problem rather than finding the solution.

Last time we talked about the effects of COVID-19 on the brain and the mind. Today we are talking about COVID-19 and mental health in a broader context, looking at public responses to the pandemic and service adaptations. 

This week we’ll be discussing the impacts of the pandemic on mental health, and the next session will take a broader look at what the pandemic has meant for the provision and delivery of mental health services. 

UHC means that everyone, everywhere should be able to access the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. But today we are faced with a coverage gap of care and services for common mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, of up to 90% in some countries.

To mark the launch of the report, United for Global Mental Health co-hosted a special webinar with the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism of UHC2030. 

Three months ago United for Global Mental Health, with partners The Lancet Psychiatry, Mental Health Innovation Network (MHIN) and MHPSS.net, launched a weekly webinar series to bring together mental health experts and service providers to share the latest information, experiences and lessons from the frontlines of the pandemic around the world. 

Our webinar on mental health and research funding.

This session has been brought to you by the International Initiative of Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL), an organisation that was created in 2003 to assist in global learning in mental health and respond to the need for more rapid knowledge transfer about mental health program development and innovation.

We need to stress the importance of this topic; mental health is vital to address to ensure a successful response to the HIV and TB pandemics. If we are to achieve the SDGs we cannot do this without addressing mental health. The WHO End TB strategy explicitly calls for HIV and TB mental health support to be integrated into the person-centred approach. 

View our webinar on mental health and the media.

The Global Mental Health Action Network (previously known as the ‘BluePrint Group’) held their first virtual Biannual Meeting of their 1000 members from 79 countries with six events over five weeks.

View our webinar on mental health and education.

View our webinar on World Mental Health Day.

View our webinar on stigma and discrimination.