On 2nd and 3rd June, the Global Mental Health Action Network is hosting its Annual Meeting. This is a key opportunity for network members to engage with one another, learn from others and inspire advocacy for the coming year, and this year it will be fully virtual.

Lived experience is not a one-dimensional checkbox to check. We lived experiencer-s are also diverse. Some of us want to share our stories, some approach the experience with precision science, some might not want to say anything at all. It is time to acknowledge and respect this.

Together, we need to advocate for resources and a new pathway of care for our COVID-19 positive patients suffering from mental illness so that they do not continue to suffer alone.

Ahead of this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) - the decision making body of the World Health Organisation - members of the Global Mental Health Action Network lay out why mental health for all by 2030 must be a key aim of the Assembly. 

What are the mental health effects of the pandemic for all of us, for the whole population? Research in recent months has painted a picture of more prolonged and more generalised damage to public mental health.

Speakers included Zeinab Hijazi (UNICEF), Chiara Servili (WHO), Matt Hughsam (citiesRISE), Yves Miel Zuniga (MentalHealthPH), Aviwe Fuanani (Waves For Change), and Joanna Lai (UNICEF).

n April 2020, as the world went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a small group of experts in the Global Mental Health space came together with United for Global Mental Health to bring you a series of informative webinars about how this pandemic is, and will, affect mental health systems, programmes and policies globally.

As we seek to recover from the pandemic and prepare to face its long-term impacts, finance ministers have the chance to set the stage for decades of sustainable development ahead.

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.