UnitedGMH at the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health

The Fourth UN High-level Meeting (HLM) on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health is a unique and critical platform to secure new commitments from governments on mental health. It has two parts: a series of statements and discussions involving heads of state and key stakeholders and an outcome document negotiated in advance by member states (the “political declaration”). 

UnitedGMH is committed to ensuring that heads of government and key stakeholders leave the HLM resolved to act faster and with greater focus to deliver equitable, integrated, and rights-based mental health services for all. As secretariat of the Global Mental Health Action Network, we have been supporting the mental health community advocate for action through the HLM process.

The recent draft of the UN HLM political declaration includes the core priorities we agreed on as a mental health community. As we look ahead to HLM, we urge Member States to stick to these commitments, which are essential for accelerating progress on mental health:

1. Recognition that our health, mental and physical, is shaped by the circumstances in which we are born, grow up, work, live, and age.
2. Immediate action to decriminalise and prevent suicide, with increased attention on preventing suicide among those groups most at risk e.g. young people.
3. Shaping our healthcare systems to shift from institutional care to primary level healthcare and care in the community settings in which we play, study, and work.
4. Commitments to invest in rights-based, multisectoral child and adolescent mental health services.
5. Stronger regulation of industries that have been harming our mental health and well-being for decades, e.g. tobacco, alcohol and the fossil fuels industry.

Download the Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN) HLM briefing to learn more about our priorities.

Timeline and key milestones

• May 2025: Multi-stakeholder meeting

We have shaped the global conversation and engagements throughout the year to elevate diverse voices, including people with lived experience and youth. In March 2025, the HLM Multistakeholder Hearing in New York was critically important to that build-up. Civil society organisations and governments discussed what they want to see achieved at HLM. The Global Mental Health Action Network (supported by UnitedGMH) gathered over 40 mental health academics, lived experience experts, campaigners, and service providers to generate messages to convince governments of the importance of mental health in the HLM.

Read our reflections from the event here: 

Watch the video of GMHAN members at the HLM MSH

• June 2025: World Health Assembly (WHA)

At the WHA, we organised four sessions centred around our key priority areas (suicide prevention, deinstitutionalisation of mental health services, child and youth mental health and addressing the social and economic determinants of mental health). Alongside these sessions, we held various bilateral discussions together with mental health advocates from eight countries supported by GMHAN. These advocates made recommendations that have been included in the zero draft of the HLM political declaration.

Read our blog about our engagements at WHA to learn more here

Key events in September 2025

• Launch of the WHO Mental Health Atlas, September 2

WHO’s World Mental Health Today and Mental Health Atlas 2024 reports show progress, with more countries adopting rights-based policies, expanding suicide prevention programmes, and integrating psychosocial support into emergency preparedness. However, progress remains uneven and incomplete in areas that remain a concern, including stagnant financing, deep inequities between countries, limited transition to community-based care, and persistent workforce shortages. These findings underscore why the upcoming HLM must deliver bold commitments.

Download the reports here:

World Mental Health Today

Mental Health Atlas

• World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10

On World Suicide Prevention Day 2025, UnitedGMH will lead a global call to action to decriminalise suicide, launching a practical guide for advocates on achieving decriminalisation titled, “Towards Care, Not Punishment.” This guide compiles case studies from Ghana, Pakistan, and the Caribbean, showcasing multi-stakeholder strategies that have successfully advanced the decriminalisation of suicide. It is designed to inform, support, and inspire advocates and policymakers working toward decriminalisation efforts in countries around the world 

Read more about our work on suicide decriminalisation here. 

• Global Week for Action on NCDs September 15 – 25

The week will spotlight NCD Alliance’s (NCDA) “Time to Lead campaign,” which urges leaders to fast-track the implementation of national NCD policies, foster cross-sector collaboration, secure funding, and place communities at the heart of action. We have worked with NCDA on a leadership podcast showcasing the work of young people who are calling on leaders to commit to improving youth mental health ahead of the HLM. 

• UNGA80 side event—”No Health without Mental Health,” September 23 (Invite only)

The UNGA80 side event is co-organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Wellcome Trust, and  UnitedGMH. This event aims to help ensure the commitments and actions agreed at the HLM lead to better mental health for all. The event will bring together a range of high-profile leaders who will demonstrate their commitment to mental health and encourage others to join them as part of the legacy of the HLM. For more information, send an email to: I.taylor@wellcome.org. 

• Mental health-related side events at UNGA, September 19-26

There will be a wide range of mental health side events at UNGA, and both United for Global Mental Health and members of the Global Mental Health Action Network are organising activities. Here’s a link to mental health side events and how to join them online or in person. 

• UN HLM on NCDs and Mental Health, September 25

We are supporting advocates and campaigners who will be speaking at the UN HLM. We are also in touch with governments that will be represented. The lasting document from the UN HLM will be the political declaration on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and well-being. The contents of the zero draft of the declaration speak to our aspirations for mental health prevention and care.  We will review and comment on the final version of the declaration and call on Member States to promote and implement the recommendations in the political declaration.

Read our response to the political declaration here

Meet our team at UN HLM

Our delegation brings expertise in advocacy, policy, research, fundraising, and communications, and lived experience from across the globe. 

UnitedGMH team

Dave Gill – Communications adviser

Faith Nassozi – Communications adviser 

James Sale – Deputy CEO

Sarah Kline – CEO

Sally Houghton – Director of Fundraising 

Lara Brearley – Consultant

Board members 

Babita Sharma – UnitedGMH board member 

Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN) team

Antonis Kousoulis – Director of Partnerships and GMHAN Secretariat Lead

Desarie Nicholas – Founder CariCope Wellness Alliance

Lucero Andaluz Llerena – Executive Director & Cofounder, De-Mentes (Peru)

Maria O’Brien – Chief Executive Officer, Mindwise Project

Sasha Hajj-Assaf – co-founder and President of Justice for Mental Health

We need your voice to make mental health a global priority at the UN HLM4:

• Send this HLM briefing to your government which sets out what the mental health community is calling for. Ask your government to take action on the points it raises.
• Use the hashtags #MentalHealthAtUNGA, #mentalhealth, #UNGA80, #HLM4 to amplify the call to action.
• Follow us on X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky to get daily updates from the UN HLM.