The toolkit to achieve mental health for all

By Muhammad Ali Hasnain, Senior Officer, United for Global Mental Health.

 

All roads lead to the United Nations High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), scheduled for 2023. 

As global leaders gear up to discuss progress on achieving UHC by 2030, and the commitments made in 2019, now is the moment for advocates to champion the integration of mental health into UHC, both nationally and globally.

Otherwise we risk it ‘missing the boat’ and being left out of the high level meeting’s political declaration in September 2023.

Everything advocates need: Our new Advocacy Toolkit 

If advocates want guidance on how to push for mental health’s integration into UHC, United for Global Mental Health’s newly launched ‘Mental Health For All’ Advocacy Toolkit’ is a great place to start. 

The toolkit equips advocates with everything they need to start or support their own efforts to have mental health integrated into UHC reforms in their own countries.

It summarises the arguments advanced by the 2020 UnitedGMH UHC report No Health Without Mental Health and the three policy briefs which followed. It sets out the key messages that make the argument for integrating mental health into UHC – arguments that can easily be used in advocacy and adapted to fit national contexts. 

Key global moments in mental health advocacy roadmap

The toolkit also contains a helpful advocacy roadmap listing the key global moments where advocates can champion the integration of mental health into UHC.

While the most important of these moments is the 2023 UN high level meeting, the World Health Assembly, the G7 and the SDG Summit are also critical opportunities to make the case.

The toolkit explains how advocates can best use each of these key global moments – and tailor the key messages – to have the maximum impact.  

The key global and national actors are also analysed, as well as the role they can play in helping integrate mental health into UHC. And on top of all that, the toolkit contains:

• Official communication templates and key global and national stakeholders.
• Social media assets and suggested posts.
• Pull out quotes and key messages.
• Essential readings and resources. 

If, having gone through the toolkit, you still have unanswered questions, you can browse the Essential Reading and Resources section. It details some of the WHO’s key recommendations for integrating mental health into UHC, and offers helpful resources and reading material on each.     

Who is it for?

While the toolkit can be adapted for use by anyone, it should be of particular interest to the following groups:

• Mental health advocates and campaigners
• Civil society organisations (CSOs)
• Mental health champions within government, multilaterals/INGOs, and global agencies. 

The toolkit can also be a useful entry point for organisations that do not work directly in the mental health space but are looking for a ‘one-stop shop’ on how to integrate mental health into their UHC advocacy strategies. 

Now is the time for change

With UHC likely to continue to be high on the global health agenda in 2023, now is the time to make our case for change.

As the Director General of the WHO Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says:

“The world is accepting the concept of universal health coverage. Mental health must be an integral part of UHC.” 

UnitedGMH’s toolkit has a vital role to play in ensuring it is. 

If you wish to learn more about integrating mental health into UHC, as well as how to best make use of the toolkit and work together with others on the issue, you can join the Global Mental Health Action Network’s UHC working group. 

 

Read more about the Mental Health Advocacy Toolkit.