On the Road to 2025: High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly
“Equity and Integration: Transforming lives and livelihoods through leadership and action on
noncommunicable diseases and mental health”
NCDs High-Level Meeting STAG
The Global Mental Health Action Network is convening the mental health sector to coordinate influencing progressing commitments for mental health at this critical point.
The NCDs High Level Meeting Short-Term Action Group has been set up to maximise inclusion and champion advocacy on the road to the High-Level Meeting (HLM) of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health in 2025. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for greater civil society involvement and presence in relevant global meetings and the Action Network is uniquely positioned to bring the voice of local advocates to the global stage.
Background and our Focus
Mental Health is an important component of the High-Level Meeting (HLM) of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2025. This is a rare occasion of mental health included at the core of a UNGA high-level meeting. A HLM is a meeting convened by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to help heads of state and governments reach agreements and make commitments on global issues.
Over the last 20 years, several health issues have been prioritised on the global agenda through HLMs at the UNGA, and there have been 3 HLMs focused on NCDs in the past. But this is a rare occasion of mental health being included at the core of such a meeting.
Overall, this agenda is an urgent opportunity to secure new progressive commitments to deliver high quality, rights-based, integrated person-centred mental health services, integrated into tertiary, secondary, primary and community-based prevention and care. There is a critical need for progress on the issues of child & adolescent mental health, suicide prevention, moving away from mental health institutionalisations, and the social and commercial determinants of mental health for all.
Our Convening
The Global Mental Health Action Network (Action Network) is convening the following:
HLM Mental Health Taskforce: provides the collective expert voice of the global and multilateral mental health sector, informing the work of the international agencies at every step of the journey to September 2025.
The Taskforce is chaired by Dr Antonis Kousoulis, GMHAN’s Secretariat Lead, and its membership includes:
United for Global Mental Health
Mental Health Innovation Network
World Federation for Mental Health
World Federation of Public Health Associations
World Psychiatric Association
Global Psychology Alliance
International Alliance of Mental Health Research Funders
Coalition for Mental Health Investment
Global Leadership Exchange
Global Action on Men’s Health
The MHPSS Collaborative
NGO Committee on Mental Health
PATH
Save the Children International
Lifeline International
NCD Alliance
as well as the WHO and UNICEF as observers. Representatives of significant funders and mental health groups and experts from regional networks are also invited.
HLM Short-Term Action Group (STAG): a Task & Finish group with national partners that are meeting and working together at critical milestones in this period. The aim is to support GMHAN members who are keen to leverage the HLM process to drive change nationally and/or internationally. Our STAG is a key part of the international Civil Society’s mechanisms to inform the outcomes of the UN High-Level Meeting. It is convened online and one of its key functions is to enable its members to attend key international events in person to ensure that global perspectives are included.
The STAG we are chairing includes 37 advocates, civil society representatives and people with lived experience from 29 countries and regions.
Civil Society Consultations: the Action Network is also ensuring that its membership is informed and engaged in the multi-stakeholder processes in the run up and at the HLM and is doing broader CSO consultations globally, to inform the work of the Task & Finish Group, the Taskforce and the HLM.
Our Aims:
Overall, the HLM (and our joint work towards this) is an opportunity to:
Position mental health alongside and distinct from NCDs; recognising the overlapping and separate issues.
Significantly increase awareness and understanding of mental health among political leaders, UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, trusts and foundations and CSOs.
Leverage parallel processes including global health financing discussions.
Develop and strengthen governments championing mental health globally and taking action nationally.
Secure specific commitments for mental health now towards fulfilling commitments within SDGs and WHO’s Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 and to inform the future development framework beyond the SDGs.
Priority Topics as indicated by our STAG members:
Mental health specific:
Child & adolescent mental health
Stigma and discrimination
Suicide prevention (incl. decriminalisation)
Service reform (incl. Deinstitutionalisation)
Shared with NCDs:
Social determinants
Finance & governance (incl. PWLE and data)
Health workforce (incl. mental health of health WF, mental health WF, task shifting)
PHC (incl. UHC, prevention, substance use)
Climate and health
Structural:
People with Lived Experience involvement and leadership
Addressing structural and commercial determinants of health
Recommended links:
World Health Organization, On the Road to 2025.
World Health Organization, How to get involved and consultation opportunities.
United for Global Mental Health, Reporting back: the International Dialogue on Sustainable Financing for NCDs & Mental Health.
If you are interested in following this work, please first ensure you are a member of the Global Mental Health Action Network by Signing up here, and email the Secretariat at admin@gmhan.org.