About Us

At United for Global Mental Health, we work to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and increase support for mental health around the world with trusted partners.  

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What we do

Our 2024–2026 strategy outlines a vision for a world where mental health support is accessible to everyone, everywhere without stigma or restrictions. We use our expertise in advocacy, financing and campaigning to advance this vision and focus on four areas of strategic impact – rights, health systems, ecosystems, and field building – to deliver progress. 

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Who we are

The United for Global Mental Health team is made up of diverse, passionate and knowledgeable individuals. By combining our extensive in-house expertise in advocacy, financing and campaigning with the unique insights of our many partners, we’re already making progress on our mission.

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What is Global Mental Health?

We all have mental health, and we all experience good and not good mental health at different times in our lives. But what is mental health? And what do we mean when we talk about global mental health?

‘Mental health’ is a blanket term for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). That includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing – affecting everything from how we think, feel and act, to how we handle stress, relate to others and make decisions.

When we talk about global mental health, and more importantly, improving global mental health, we’re talking about our big defining goal: to improve the mental health of every person around the world at a global and national level who needs support – particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Our Impact 2023

Explore our new report detailing the impact that United for Global Mental Health has had on advancing global and national mental health advocacy throughout 2023. Our collective efforts, in collaboration with our network of partners around the world, have resulted in significant achievements that have transformed the mental health landscape.

Some of the key highlights from 2023 include:

  • Decriminalising Suicide: we have advocated for several years to get suicide decriminalised around the world. This year saw the decriminalisation of suicide in four countries: Pakistan, Ghana, Guyana, and Malaysia. UnitedGMH was very proud to contribute to the efforts of national partners, particularly those in Pakistan and Ghana, in supporting their work to achieve this historic result. And we made sure there was a commitment to decriminalise suicide in the Small Island Developing States ‘Bridgetown Declaration’ paving the way to decriminalisation across the Caribbean (one of our key goals for 2024). 
  • Inclusion of Mental Health in UN General Assembly Declarations: Our advocacy efforts led to a historic milestone as mental health was comprehensively included for the first time in three key UN General Assembly declarations on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, Tuberculosis (TB), and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). These declarations, spanning 193 countries and covering 7.9 billion people, signify a significant step towards prioritising mental health on the global agenda and ensuring access to mental health services for all. You can read case studies about our work supporting national partners and our UHC advocacy toolkit as we are committed to driving further action in 2024. 
  • Unlocking support from The Global Fund: thanks to the advocacy work of United for Global Mental Health alongside governments, international agencies and civil society organisations (CSOs) The Global Fund strategy now integrates mental health. And now we are tracking progress to ensure additional funding really does lead to lives saved. We established an interagency working group to coordinate the work of UN agencies and bilateral donors to make sure the money flows. In 2023, we worked in partnership with national organisations in 14 countries and two regional networks to integrate mental health into national applications to the Global Fund. We will continue this work in 2024. Learn more about how we will sustain the momentum.
  • Getting Mental Health on the National Agenda: United for Global Mental Health worked with partners to propel mental health onto national agendas across various countries. In Nigeria, we supported the government and CSOs in revising the national mental health policy, fostering a more inclusive and effective approach to mental health care. We have produced an advocacy guide on using the WHO/OCHR guidance on health, human rights and legislation so in 2024 we can help more countries reform their mental health laws. 

Explore our Impact Report for a detailed overview of our accomplishments. Together, we’re breaking barriers, dismantling stigma, and ensuring everyone has access to the support they need.