The Global Mental Health Action Network’s NEW Long-Term, Comprehensive Strategy
We are a community of advocates that make change happen. With more than 5,000 Global Mental Health Action Network (Action Network) members from over 165 countries representing 3,500+ organisations, we are the world’s leading network for global mental health advocacy.
Our members have made it clear that we need to work towards a more equitable future, with a fairer distribution of power, influence, funding, services, and mental health workforce. In our new, long-term, comprehensive strategy, we’ve outlined how we intend to collectively lead by example and forge collaborative spaces and mechanisms that champion diverse leadership, equity and inclusion. Developing capacity, sharing opportunities and amplifying the voices of advocates is core to mental health improvement and central to our mission. This ambitious new vision and mission has been co-produced with Action Network members from over 100 countries!
Our Pillars and Purpose:
A - Advocacy: We enable advocates to influence key global structures and decisions, and to advocate on a national and global stage for what matters locally.
B - Belongingness: We nurture community and provide a global "home" for mental health advocates and activists, often excluded from traditional power structures.
C - Convening: We use our global reach and networks to bring people and organisations together, and we support advocates to strengthen their skills, learning and awareness.
D - Decentralisation of power: We lead by example, hold the sector to account and champion diverse and culturally appropriate mental health leadership.
2025-2035 Strategy Highlights
The Action Network is a free-to-access membership organisation established to connect people and resources towards improving global mental health advocacy and practice
How are we funded?
The Global Mental Health Action Network is committed to openness and objectivity. We are supported by the generosity of corporate philanthropy and private foundations, and the ongoing commitment to our human resources and strategy of our host and founding organisation, United for Global Mental Health. We are grateful to the lululemon Center for Social Impact, the Wellcome Trust, Kokoro, Pinterest and Adobe Foundation for funding our activities in recent years.
We do not accept donations from pharmaceutical companies, nor from any part of the harmful products industries. Members of our network who work in pharmaceutical companies are asked to declare this, as well as to cite conflicts of interest.
Further information on this and the principles that drive our network can be found in our Terms of Reference.
With more than 5,000 members from civil society, NGOs, academia, governments, international organisations, and the private sector, from over 165 countries there are many reasons to be part of our growing network.
Mental health experts, campaigners and advocates – including those with lived experience – come from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds. We work hard to include the experiences and perspectives often missed in conversations about global mental health.
We know that our mental health is profoundly shaped by the circumstances in which we are born, grow, work, live and age. We therefore endeavour to work with partners who reflect that breadth of experiences. We respect local, cultural and lived expertise, as well as academic and technical training.
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