World Mental Health Day
2025 World Mental Health Day
Last year, United for Global Mental Health, Africa CDC, the International Council of Nurses and the International Federation of Medical Students Association – together representing millions of health workers and future health workers – launched a new campaign for World Mental Health Day 2024.
We are called for better mental health support for health workers. For more information read this blog and read our joint campaign press release. You can also listen to this podcast on BBC’s Africa Daily. Follow the campaign on our social media channels on LinkedIn and X.
Please stay tuned for our 2025 updates.
About
Each year World Mental Health Day (WMHD) is celebrated on October 10. Around the world a wide range of individuals and organisations organise campaigns and events to mark the day and to raise awareness of the need for good mental health for all.
United For Global Mental Health’s (UnitedGMH) aim, is to encourage collaborative action at global, national and local level that leads to a tangible, positive impact on peoples’ mental health. We advise UN agencies, CSOs, governments, foundations, the private sector and many more on what to do and how to get their priorities publicity on World Mental Health Day (WMHD) and how to make change happen, locally, nationally and globally.
In 2024 the official theme is “It is time to prioritize mental health in the workplace” See more here
For advice on the latest on what is happening this World Mental Health Day and how you can get involved get in touch with UnitedGMH
Background
The World Federation for Mental Health sets the theme for WMHD. Organisations such as the WHO and UNICEF also develop themes and messages. Many CSOs organise events and there are opportunities to work with UN agencies, government officials, academics and researchers and the private sector to jointly raise awareness and drive action.
Role of United For Global Mental Health
UnitedGMH usually identifies and helps drive action on a specific theme/area of political priority deliverable. And as the secretariat of the Global Mental Health Action Network, we support the wider work of all its members for WMHD.
Key activities:
- UnitedGMH identifies and helps drive action on a specific theme/area of political priority deliverable.
- UnitedGMH and GMHAN ensure a good information exchange between international stakeholders and national stakeholders on plans and opportunities to collaborate and secure funding for activities.
- UnitedGMH and GMHAN encourage joint/coordinated messaging and communications materials between as many different stakeholders as possible
- UnitedGMH and GMHAN identify and promote sources of funding for WMHD activities that can be accessed by national CSO partners.
Examples of our work
2018 UnitedGMH worked with the UK government on the first Global Mental Health Summit in London. We arranged an installation and features to help increase publicity around the event globally. We led the launch of the Lancet Commission on Sustainable Development and Mental Health garnering coverage in multiple countries.
2019 UnitedGMH worked with the UN Secretary General and a host of leaders for World Mental Health Day to highlight the “Time to Act” for mental health. We created a video featuring different leaders and called for action particularly on preventing suicide.
2020 in the midst of COVID-19 UnitedGMH organised a virtual “March for Mental Health” with 24 hours of action featuring a different country or topic every hour, with celebrity musicians joining calls to take action. The campaign involved a wide range of GMHAN members and led to pledges of action and support by leaders in a range of countries.
2021 UnitedGMH worked to promote the work of our national partners through the Global Mental Health Action Network, featuring events and activities taking place on multiple continents.
2022 UnitedGMH helped develop and launch the Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and DIscrimination in Mental Health, securing media coverage around the world and sparking conversations with journalists, policy makers, CSOs and People with Lived Experience in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. This work helped launch a GMHAN working group on stigma and discrimination in 2024.
2023 a new UnitedGMH policy paper was launched featuring new analysis on the USD 200 billion cost of mental health and the need to invest. The paper was used by partners in different countries to help make the case for greater funding.
For advice on the latest on what is happening this World Mental Health Day and how you can get involved
Join the Global Mental Health Action Network
Be part of a movement for mental health – on World Mental Health Day and every day