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Child and Youth
Mental illness stands as the foremost threat to the health, well-being, and productivity of our young people.
The challenge
Youth mental health is drawing more attention than ever before, with national and global efforts increasingly calling for improved policy, programmes and financing. The idea of focusing on prevention and promotion to mitigate future mental health challenges, address social determinants of health and increase access to mental health care, is gaining traction.
UN agencies, the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), Fondation Botnar, the Global Fund, and Zurich Foundation are some of the global players leading change
Approximately 1 in 5 children and adolescents worldwide live with a mental health condition, with half of all mental health conditions begin by the age of 14 and a staggering 75% of mental health conditions emerging before the age of 25.
And yet the mental health needs of children and adolescents have frequently been overlooked.
There persists a silent epidemic of stigma, discrimination, and limited access to mental health care and education among young people with mental health conditions.
But a paradigm shift is underway. Young people are already actively advocating for their own mental health. United for Global Mental Health stands with them, urging the international community and national governments to support young people’s mental health and engage young people meaningfully in the process.
Our work
As a partner for the Being initiative, alongside Fondation Botnar, Grand Challenges Canada, the Global Affairs of Canada and the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research we advocate for youth led mental health prevention and promotion. We are working to create supportive ecosystems where young people have the means and agency to promote their own mental health.
Young people play a pivotal role in directly advocating for improved mental health. We push for policymakers to provide platforms that recognise young people as experts in shaping the global mental health sector.