United for Global Mental Health

As we mark Health Day at #COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, we are thrilled to share The Lancet Psychiatry's latest commentary: "Why mental health should be embedded across climate and health discussions at COP29" At COP29, we are calling for mental health to be integrated across four strategic entry points: 🎯Ambitious targets for accessible, grant-based, and flexible finance, based on the common but differentiated responsibilities principle, need to be agreed as part of the NCQG, because mental health cannot be safeguarded if climate action is not appropriately financed 🏙️Mental health should be explicitly and meaningfully integrated in the implementation of the Multisectoral Actions Pathways Declaration for Resilient and Healthy Cities 🌳Mental health should be thoroughly integrated in future climate and health initiatives at COPs as part of the Baku COP Presidency Continuity Coalition for Climate and Health 📊For selected indicators identified as part of the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience to track information that is crucial for both physical and mental health The commentary also outlines practical ways for how you can contribute to #COP29 discussions. 📖 Read the full commentary here: https://lnkd.in/dwBJJdRA 💭 How can mental health be integrated into global climate strategies? Share your thoughts! Alessandro Massazza Naro Alonzo Jura Augustinavicius Jessica Beagley Luiz Roberto (Beto) Carvalho Mercian Daniel  Juliana Fleury  Narmin Guluzade Dr Zeinab Hijazi Emma Lawrance Omnia El Omrani, MD Saad Uakkas, MD, MPH Dr. Victor Ugo Dr. Harshita Umesh Claudia Batz Global Mental Health Action Network World Health Organization The MHPSS Collaborative The George Institute for Global Health UNICEF Imperial College London Global Climate and Health Alliance #COP29 #HealthDay #ClimateAction #MentalhealthMatters

🎉 And that's a wrap! What a truly magical 3 days at the Being Global Gathering in Rabat, Morocco! 💡 Day 3 Highlights: ✨ Scribbler Exercise: Innocent Chansa, MPH (Contact Trust Youth Association) energized us with an art therapy exercise based in self-expression. 🌍 Ecosystem Discussions: Led by Sireesha J. Bobbili (Grand Challenges Canada), Carolina Bermudez Currea (Kindred Foundation), Cătălina Popoviciu, Saad Uukkas, Jasmine Kalha, (Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy, ILS, Pune) Wilsen Widal Kho, Chikumbi Chambwe, Amisa Rashid (Nivishe Foundation) we dove into the challenges and opportunities for scaling youth mental health innovations. Innovators like Leena Chau from Simon Fraser University shared how local partnerships can help drive uptake of innovations like their app Vmood, which supports people in self-managing their depression in Vietnam. 📣 Advocacy Workshop: James Sale (United for Global Mental Health) inspired us with practical tools to amplify impact. A standout moment? Learning about Taskeen's incredible advocacy in Pakistan to decriminalize suicide—a powerful example of advocacy in action. Through several engaging activities, including rock, paper, scissors and paper planes, attendees learned from each other's advocacy approaches. 📊 M&E Workshop: Paula Yarrow (Waves for Change) spotlighted how qualitative tools like satisfaction surveys reveal insights beyond numbers, helping refine implementation. 🎤 Closing Address: Partners and innovators reflected on the event's magic together. Noor Azaiez (Association Interlinks, Tunisia) summarized it: "All the projects were inspiring, everyone was amazing. I'm looking forward to staying connected." This gathering was a powerful reminder of the impact of collaboration, learning, and youth leadership. 🙏 A huge thank you to Orygen, Fondation Mohammed VI des Sciences et de la Santé , all the incredible innovators, and Grand Challenges Canada for making it possible. Let's keep #BeingConnected as we continue this vital work! 💪 Science for Africa Foundation Fondation Botnar NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada

As we approach #WorldAIDSDay, we call upon governments and donors to integrate mental health services into HIV prevention, treatment, and care. We also advocate for broader integration of HIV and mental health services into primary care and beyond traditional health facilities to truly achieve people-centered care.  Integrating mental health into HIV and TB response would deliver big wins. 🎯It would mean almost 1 million people avoid contracting HIV (the same number of infections that is currently predicted for the year 2026). 🌟It would deliver faster progress toward global HIV and TB targets, improve the quality of life for vulnerable groups, and lead to a reduction in the impact of future pandemics. 💡Visit our website to learn more: https://lnkd.in/dHuSDQhg #WorldAIDSday #MentalHealthAndHIV Elton John AIDS Foundation, The Global Fund, Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy and UNAIDS

🌟 Day 2 Highlights from the Being Global Gathering! 🌟 We began with a refreshing 🧘🏾♀️ yoga energizer led by Dream Sports Africa before diving into a day filled with impactful discussions, practical insights, and on-the-ground inspiration. Here's what stood out: 💬 Parallel Discussions on: Social Media & Technology for Youth Mental Health 🌐 Lifafa Kange from LIFAFA RESEARCH FOUNDATION and Tiffany Mwathi from Mental 360 explored how digital tools amplify awareness, improve service accessibility, engage youth participants, and support fundraising efforts. Schools Driving Mental Health Outcomes 🏫 Florence Adong from BasicNeeds Uganda emphasized self-care for mental health providers. She shared successful approaches to engaging young people in district-level government advocacy. 💡 Fundraising Workshop featuring: Reinserta: Ana Echeverri, Ximena Palacios, and SANDRA IZQUIERDO highlighted innovative strategies like fundraising events, crowdfunding, and digital campaigns as key to success. SameSame (SiyaFanaFana): Jonathan McKay stressed the importance of diversifying funding, building an online presence, and leveraging storytelling. He shared insights on working with accelerators, being transparent about support needs, and fostering collaboration with funders. Women Friendly Initiative: Modupe Owolabi offered tips for proposal development, stressing early preparation, meticulous RFP reviews, and aligning proposals with funder priorities to maximize success. IFMSA-Morocco: A student organization emphasized engaging donors early to understand their priorities, ensuring alignment before pitching. 🚶♀️ Site Visits: InspireCorps (featuring Jihad Bnimoussa): Since 2019, they have been tackling stigma through youth development. They run creative workshops like mandala art for anxiety, train teachers in 3,000+ schools, and create tools like the Periodic Table of Emotions. We ended with a fun activity designing mental health solutions—and we won Moroccan sweets! 🍬 Collectif Autisme Maroc: This national network of parent associations offers lifelong support for youth on the autism spectrum through specialized education, early intervention, therapy, IT training, and life skills programs. Ar-razi Psychiatric Hospital: This outpatient facility, led by medical residents and a psychiatrist, treats youth under 18 with conditions such as autism, ADHD, and anxiety. Schools are critical in referrals, while the hospital supports families facing stigma and socio-economic barriers. We're excited for Day 3! 💪 #BeingConnected Orygen Grand Challenges Canada Fondation Botnar United for Global Mental Health Science for Africa Foundation NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada

Day 1 at the Being Learning Network Global Gathering in Rabat, Morocco! We had the opportunity to hear from the Being keynote panel, diving deep into their investment in youth mental health and exploring the exciting opportunities and challenges from global experiences. 🌍✨ Our team Bright Shitemi and Tiffany Jasmine are thrilled to be part of the ‘Being Connected: Global Collaboration for Youth Mental Health’ forum, where we are joining global innovators to explore how we can collectively improve youth mental health. From interactive table-top presentations to facilitated discussions on key topics like leveraging technology, measuring outcomes, and youth participation, this event is shaping up to be a game-changer for the future of mental health programs. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to connect, learn, and collaborate with incredible minds from around the world! Grand Challenges Canada Being Initiative Fondation Botnar NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Science for Africa Foundation United for Global Mental Health #youthmentalhealth #globalcollaboration #mentalhealthinnovation #connectingforchange #conversationssavelives #mental360kenya

Day 1 of the Global Gathering was full of inspiration and connection. 💡 We're sharing our key highlights here! 👇 🎤 A keynote panel with Yasmine Smires, UNICEF Maroc, Marielle Sander, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Maroc, Melani O'Leary, Grand Challenges Canada and Friendship Bench Zimbabwe's Providence J. explored valuable insights on mental health support for young people, including in crisis settings and shifting narratives by including young people directly in leading and designing programs. Providence Jongwedzvuku (Friendship Bench) also shared 4 key ingredients to scale mental health innovation: 1. Engaging community leaders to shape locally relevant, inclusive innovations. 2. Research and evidence to inform programs. 3. Innovation and amplifying innovative approaches. 4. Scaling strong partnerships to accelerate impact and secure funding sources. 🖼️ Innovators showcased their projects in interactive presentations and shared best practices and lessons learned with their peers in a collaborative format. Participants walked away with stronger connections. "Today we come to know that we can learn from each other," said one participant. With so many outstanding innovators in attendance from Grand Challenges Canada's Global Mental Health portfolio it’s hard to spotlight only a few, but here are some memorable moments from the presentations: 💬 "When you open wounds, you close them again." Rand Baba of the Tamer Institute for Community Education describes how their youth-led mental health ERs and community libraries across Gaza and the West Bank create immediate support networks in crisis settings. Rand emphasized how storytelling and safe learning spaces empower youth to express themselves, helping to combat trauma and the ongoing mental health crisis in Palestine. 💬"[We’re] strengthening, not building resilience, because people are already resilient."  Wanjiku W. from Green String Network, leading the Ustawi program in Kenya, offered an important reminder of the need to respect communities' inherent strengths and build on their existing capacities. 💬  "Youth mental health is not a monolith. When reaching out to vulnerable groups; approaches must be tailored." Mason Viet Trinh from Lighthouse Social Enterprise (Doanh Nghiệp Xã hội Hải Đăng) Vietnam, a peer-led mental health initiative for LGBTQI+ youth in Vietnam, emphasized that youth face unique challenges requiring solutions rooted in their experiences and contexts. 💬 "When you think about youth populations, do not disregard young persons with disabilities." A powerful reminder from Uttam Kumar of Sense International India, who works with children and youth with deaf-blindness in India. 💬  “With the combination of innovation and empathy, we can change the lives of young people.” Reinserta shared the powerful stories and lessons from their work with young people whose lives have been marked by violence in Mexico. #BeingConnected Orygen

At the recently held World Conference on Lung Health (#UnionConf2024), mental health dialogues took a front seat. It was encouraging to see TB-related stigma and the need for mental health integration emerge as central themes of the conference across various sessions. The message was clear: we must invest in mental health integration to improve outcomes, reduce incidence, and achieve cost savings. Read more reflections in the joint blog by UnitedGMH, Union TB, and the Mental Health Working Group here: https://lnkd.in/dta_G27F #UnionConf2024 #TBandMentalHealth Elton John AIDS Foundation, The Global Fund, Stop TB Partnership

🌟#ICYMI The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Transforming Mental Health Implementation Research explores innovative strategies to transform research into actionable evidence for better mental health outcomes. 👉Dive into it here: https://lnkd.in/gvg_idg4 Earlier this year, we joined a webinar hosted by United for Global Mental Health and the Global Mental Health Action Network to discuss #mentalhealth implementation research. The session, chaired by Being’s Youth Advisor Jihad Bnimoussa, featured insightful contributions from UNICEF, Columbia University, and Sahil Chopra from Grand Challenges Canada, who highlighted findings from our landscape analysis report. Missed it? 🎥 Rewatch the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/dEsGdBN7

We’ve arrived in Morocco for the Being Global Gathering, #BeingConnected, which will be hosted at the Fondation Mohammed VI des Sciences et de la Santé and we couldn’t be more excited! 🌍 This unique event, organized by our partner and Being’s Learning and Support Platform Orygen is bringing together youth mental health innovators from Grand Challenges Canada’s Global Mental Health portfolio, advocates, and partners from across the globe for three days of discussions, workshops, and activities focused on learning, sharing, and building connections to support and strengthen youth mental health innovations. ✨ Follow along here for daily updates and highlights—you won’t want to miss the inspiration, lessons, and connections emerging from this gathering! Learn more about the role of the Learning and Support platform: https://lnkd.in/d5szM4qN #BeingConnected #YouthMentalHealth #GlobalInnovation Orygen Grand Challenges Canada, Fondation Botnar, United for Global Mental Health, NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research), Science for Africa Foundation, Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada, Fondation Mohammed VI des Sciences et de la Santé

At #COP29, the voices of young people are critical in shaping the future of climate action and mental health. Ayomide Olude from Lagos, Nigeria, representing SustyVibes, shares why centering young people in these discussions is so important. "Children and young people are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis—it affects their well-being and ability to thrive. By addressing this, we can build a resilient, healthy generation ready to lead and create change." Let’s ensure youth voices are heard and mental health is prioritised in climate discussions. 💚 #ClimateAction #MentalHealthMatters #YouthVoices UN Climate Change Climate Cares - Imperial College London American Psychological Association The George Institute for Global Health Wellcome Trust World Health Organization UNICEF