#MHForAll Webinar: World Mental Health Day Planning
On Tuesday 26th September, a panel of experts met to discuss the work being done around the world to commemorate World Mental Health Day (WMHD). Panellists discussed their new campaigns and initiatives and outlined how organisations and individuals can get involved both nationally and globally.
Webinar panellists:
Stella Tan, Policy Analyst, UNDP (Chair)
Farah Arabe, Founder, itotheN (Chair)
Kathryn Goertzke, Founder iFred; UN Representative for the World Federation of Mental Health
Sarah Kline, CEO and Co-Founder, UnitedGMH
Oluwatosin Akingbulu, Advocacy and Communications Specialist, UNICEF
Deborah Adenikinju, Founder, Mental Health KAFE
Giovanni Sala, Public Mental Health Consultant, WHO
Nasser Loza, President, World Federation of Mental Health
Wangda Dorji, Executive Director, Lhak-Sam
Replay the sessions:
Session notes:
United for Global Mental Health's Past WMHD Celebrations:
Sarah Kline from United for Global Mental Health (UnitedGMH) reflects on their previous WMHD celebrations. UnitedGMH's focus has been on increasing participation and raising the political significance of the day. In the past, UnitedGMH has worked on video addresses from the UN Secretary General, and during the pandemic, the organisation hosted a 24hr Virtual March for Mental Health, where mental health experts, campaigners, advocates, and people with lived experience from across the world shared their stories as part of a global momentum to drive change and investment in mental health globally.
Currently, UnitedGMH does not hold dedicated events on WMHD due to its busy nature, but the organisation actively participates in the annual Global Mental Health Ministerial Summit, which this year takes place in Argentina. UnitedGMH prioritises promoting the work of its partners through the Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN).
Sarah acknowledges that WMHD has become more widely known due to increasing recognition of mental health. She emphasises that different countries have varying priorities and needs, and UnitedGMH's role is to support each country in pursuing its own objectives in mental health.
Find out more here: www.unitedgmh.org www.gmhan.org
Deborah's Mental Health Resource Map for Africa:
To commemorate WMHD, MHKAFE has been developing an innovative project focusing specifically on mental health in Africa. Deborah highlights the scarcity of mental health resources on the continent and the lack of awareness about existing resources. MHKAFEs goal is to create a comprehensive map covering services, advocacy, and research to help people access mental health resources more easily.
The digital map aims to bridge the gap in awareness, facilitate collaboration among organisations, and enhance resource accessibility. It will be launched on WMHD, and Deborah invites individuals to explore, share, submit new resources, and provide feedback, emphasising the need for collaborative efforts. Once launched, there will be an opportunity for individuals and organisations to submit additional resources to the map. A similar map was recently launched on World Suicide Prevention Day, which is live on the MHKAFE website.
Find out more here: https://www.mentalhealthkafe.org/
MHKAFE’s Suicide Prevention Resource Map - https://www.mentalhealthkafe.org/suicidepreventionmap
Kathryn and Nasser's WMHD Vision:
The theme for WMHD this year is "Mental Health is a Universal Human Right," aiming to empower individuals. Kathryn shares that whilst there is greater, and more open dialogue around mental health challenges, more needs to be done to protect the rights of individuals living with mental health conditions. She flags the need for joint action on this initiative and collaboration, which the WFMH is helping to facilitate through the WMHD official website. The website lists key resources and toolkits that can be used in advocacy campaigns centred around WMHD.
Nasser highlights the importance of amplifying the voices of those with lived experience (PWLE) and their families. He recognises that whilst many activities are taking place around October 10th, conversations around mental health should not be limited to this specific day. He urges people to support WMHD by sharing personal stories and experiences, helping change perceptions year-round.
Find out more here: https://wmhdofficial.com/ https://wmhdofficial.com/about-2023/
Official toolkit: https://wmhdofficial.com/wp-content/uploads/wmhd2023_toolkit.pdf
Stella and UNDP's Economic Case for MH Investment:
Stella from UNDP talks about their previous WMHD initiatives, including launching an economic case for investment in mental health in various countries. These economic cases advocate for increased government financing for mental health services and are available in countries like the Philippines, Kenya, and Bangladesh. Stella also notes UNDP's current focus on evaluating the economic case for digital mental health interventions, assessing their effectiveness and investment feasibility. UNDP's initiatives aim to address the significant shortage of funding and workforce in the mental health sector.
Find out more here: https://www.undp.org/asia-pacific/blog/economic-case-investing-mental-health
Giovanni's Insights for WMHD:
Giovanni from the World Health Organization (WHO) outlines their plans for WMHD. WHO is gearing up for a campaign called "Our Minds, Our Rights" that challenges mental health stigma and discrimination and underscores mental health as a human right. The specific objectives of the campaign are to:
share the importance of good mental health
highlight that mental health is a universal human right and encourage people to know their rights regarding mental health
empower others to support their own mental health
create connection and empathy around mental health
The campaign focuses on educating, taking action, and fostering connections. Activities begin on October 9th. The WHO will be launching new guidance on mental health, human rights and legislation, developed with OHCHR. The resource offers practical information on how to develop, implement and evaluate mental health-related legislation, using a rights-based framework.
A social media campaign is being developed for October 10th and will include a video from the WHO Director-General. A toolkit including social media assets, videos and resources will be uploaded to the WHO website and will be available in all UN languages. Giovanni encourages advocates to check out the WHO's WMHD page and adapt their resources to fit the needs of their own campaigns and activities. For more information on local initiatives, Giovanni suggests keeping in touch with WHO regional offices.
Find out more here: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day/2023
Oluwatosin and UNICEF's WMHD Efforts:
Oluwatosin shares UNICEF's WMHD plans, which include expanding on their existing "On My Mind" campaign. This year, UNICEF is adopting two different approaches, targeting decision-makers to make commitments to children, adolescents and caregivers, and secondly, using strategic communication to target young people and caregivers and promote good mental health.
UNICEF will collaborate with WHO to host plenary sessions and workshops at the Global Mental Health Ministerial Summit in Argentina, where the theme is ‘mental health in all policies.’ This will be a key opportunity to bring together ministers across sectors to ensure they are committing to mental health in line with UNICEF’s key advocacy asks. Oluwatosin recommends engaging with ministers who are participating in the Ministerial Summit.
Alongside this, there will be mental health forums taking place in Argentina where young people will be given a platform to participate in these important dialogues. UNICEF has developed an advocacy and communications toolkit, with top-line messages and digital assets, articles and youth engagement resources that can be used to support advocacy efforts across the world.
Find out more here: https://www.unicef.org/on-my-mind
Wangda's Perspective from Bhutan:
Wangda sheds light on Bhutan's first-ever observation of WMHD. Lhak-Sam will be engaging with policy-makers, health ministers and UN agencies and will present the issues impacting key affected populations, including people living with HIV, sex workers, drug users and the LGBTQIA+ community. In the lead-up to the event, Lhak-Sam has been developing an evidence base on stigma, discrimination and human rights issues within Bhutan, which disproportionately affects the youth.
Wangda explains that there is a need for community support and training to tackle stigmatisation and discrimination, particularly in HIV-related contexts. Collaboration with the religious community is also part of their strategy.
Find out more here: https://www.lhaksam.org.bt/
