World Health Assembly (WHA79) featuring Mental Health

Below are the key agenda items impacting mental health, paired with strategic asks for advocates to present to governments:

• The 2025 UN HLM4 political declaration created unprecedented commitments on mental health and NCDs. WHA79 is one of the first opportunities for Member States to demonstrate how they will operationalise those commitments.

  Ask governments to provide an update on areas the declaration highlighted, including increasing financing, deinstitutionalisation, youth mental health and preventing suicide.

  ————

• Countries are expected to report on progress and gaps against the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan (2013–2030), and WHA79 will likely scrutinise whether momentum is accelerating fast enough to meet 2030 targets.

  Ask governments to provide an update on their targets and how they will sustain and increase progress.

  ————

• The Global Health Architecture (GHA) will be a major focus of discussions. Mental health is largely absent from these discussions, as they have focused more on reforming the current system.

  Ask governments to ensure mental health is addressed directly in the GHA deliberations: billions of people are affected directly and/or indirectly by mental health, and the future health architecture needs to address the implications of that.

  ————

• Health Emergencies will be discussed, including the conflict in the Middle East. It is already having a huge mental health impact on those directly affected, and it could have wider international mental health impacts.

  Remind governments to address the mental health needs of those affected.

UnitedGMH will be sharing detailed talking points for each agenda item at the WHA on this webpage by April 10.

Mental health-related side events

This list will be updated regularly. Current as of March 31.

Monday, May 18

• 1700-1900: Building the mental wealth of young people utilising low-intensity supports and an ecosystem approach. Hosted by Orygen. Location and more details TBC.

Tuesday, May 19

• 1300-1420: Adequate and sustained financing for NCDs and Mental Health: approaches to closing the implementation gap. Hosted by NCDA and UnitedGMH. Location and more details TBC.
• Timing TBC: Care Not Custody: A Human Rights Based Approach to Mental Health. Hosted by OHCHR and United for Global Mental Health. Location and more details TBC.

Wednesday, May 20

• Timing TBC: Driving Mental Health into UHC: Multi-Stakeholder Leadership. Hosted by Unite Parliamentary Network. Location and more details TBC.

Friday, May 22

• Timing TBC: Online Safety: Artificial Intelligence, Social Media and Suicide Prevention. Hosted by IASP. Location and more details TBC.