
News and views
The latest from across our network

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MEMBER BLOG: WHO CC UTS launches Basic Psychosocial Skills - training for COVID-19 responders
A new free online course on Basic Psychosocial Skills has been made available by the WHO CC UTS.
#MHForAll Webinar: Putting Psychoses on the Global Mental Health Agenda
Psychosis is not very visible in the global mental health discussion, which is actually quite surprising, as governments tend to think that psychosis should be a priority and their budgets tend to be allocated to this.
Annual Meeting: Seven key takeaways
Last week The Global Mental Health Action Network held their virtual Annual Meeting. Open to their membership of over 1300 individuals from over 100 countries, the meeting was held between 2nd and 3rd June.
MEMBER BLOG: A new model for dealing with pandemic-related burnout
Burnout was a massive challenge even before the Covid-19 pandemic. A 2015 study found that workplace stress and burnout contributed to at least 120,000 deaths in the US each year, for example, with additional costs of up to $190 billion or 8% of national spending on health care annually.
MEMBER BLOG: Training young people to give mental health peer support as the fall out from the COVID-19 pandemic continues
YCN is a four month module conceived with the objectives of building capacities and providing support to youth leaders in order for them to deliver psychosocial first aid services for their peers.
Annual Meeting: A stellar line up of virtual events
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.
MEMBER BLOG: It’s time for a multi-dimensional view of lived experience
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.
MEMBER BLOG: Languishing in Loneliness - Gaps in Paediatric Mental Health Care During Pandemic
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.
GMHAN Members share their views on the upcoming World Health Assembly
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.
MEMBER BLOG: The Silent Pandemic: Covid-19 and mental health
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.
#MHForAll Webinar: Youth 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).
#MHForAll Webinar Series: One Year On
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.
MEMBER BLOG: Finance ministries can catalyze post-COVID-19 mental health action
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.
#MHForAll Webinar: The state of mental health financing
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.
#MHForAll Webinar: Early childhood development
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.
Advocating for mental health financing at the Spring Meetings
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.
#MHForAll Webinar: Mental health and migrant populations
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).
#MHForAll Webinar: Mental health in prisons & institutions
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.
#MHForAll Webinar: The year of human rights and mental health
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.
#MHForAll Webinar: Human rights and mental health
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.