UNGA80 High-Level Side Event: 'No Health Without Mental Health: A shared commitment'

Leaders and experts from around the world gathered at the UN General Assembly high-level side event “No Health Without Mental Health: A shared commitment."

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 26, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Leaders and experts from around the world gathered at the UN General Assembly high-level side event “No Health Without Mental Health: A shared commitment”, held on 23 September 2025, hosted by the World Health Organisation, the Wellcome Trust, and United for Global Mental Health. The event was co-sponsored by the Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, France and the Philippines, and organised in collaboration with UNICEF.

Heads of State and Ministers are participating in the UN High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the Promotion of Mental Health on Thursday, September 25. For the first time, mental health is firmly on the global agenda and over 160 governments are expected to participate in the high-level meeting.

At the high-level side event, speakers celebrated the progress achieved and the ambition of the political declaration on NCDs and mental health to be issued following the High-Level Meeting. Speakers agreed that the High-Level Meeting represents a turning point, but the work has only just begun.

As Sarah Kline, CEO of United for Global Mental Health, “We have all worked tirelessly for this moment. It is the first political declaration with detail on mental health that we can now take forward. It is a key moment in our journey. We have shared so much of our own personal stories today. That has never happened at the UN either, so the political declaration will not be perfect but it will help us drive change. This is just the start.”

H.E. Mrs Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine, “At the 77th World Health Assembly, together with the Netherlands, we initiated a resolution that established mental health as a key priority before, during, and after a crisis. These come from our experience. We want our trials to contribute to global resilience and ultimately to strengthen the soul. That is why I urge all countries to make mental health a priority now. Proactively. Protected in your budgets. In your educational programmes, and in everyday life.”

Hon. Dr Teodoro J. Herbosa, Secretary of Health, the Philippines, “The Philippines stands ready to work with all member states to ensure that mental health is recognised not as a peripheral issue but as a pillar of human development, social cohesion and global health security. With a strong commitment, I am proud to share that the Philippines will be honoured to host the 3rd international dialogue on sustainable financing for NCDs and mental health in August 2026 in Manila. We invite you all.”

Hon. Dr Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health, South Africa, “My country regards increased focus on mental health by the United Nations organisation, Member States, academics, civil society and business partners, that is a very important step towards addressing NCDs and mental health burden of disease and improving quality of life for all people.”

Lucero Andaluz Co-Founder and Executive Director, De-Mentes, Peru and representing the Global Mental Health Action Network, “The centrality of mental health in this agenda is critical. These global commitments give civil society and advocates like myself the legitimacy and foundation we need to demand stronger policies and sustainable investments for youth mental health at national and local levels. We are talking about whether people like my brother who lives with Schizophrenia, can live with dignity, having the same opportunities as anyone else.”

H.E. Michelle Bachelet, Former President of Chile: “We must reimagine our system so they are rooted in prevention, human rights, recovery, and choice. People with mental health conditions deserve support to achieve their aspirations and goals, alongside the treatment and recovery plans. We must also remember the importance of the social determinants of health, which are also key when discussing mental health. We cannot separate mental health from those conditions in which people live: poverty, education, housing, accessible food, violence, displacement, and discrimination.”

John-Arne Røttingen, CEO, Wellcome Trust, “We know there is a huge gap in access to cheap, generic medicines when it comes to mental health. We are in partnership with CHAI and MedAccess, exploring how we can do what they call market shaping or other ways of trying to increase the demand and aggregate demand to make access to cheap, generic medicines for the most common conditions. Medicines are definitely not everything. It’s just a small part of mental health service. It is a core part. We need to make sure the access is available across the world.”

Juliana UNICEF youth advocate, Brazil, “Children have the right to be heard on each of the issues that affect children, and mental health affects children. As a young person, I say we know the challenges. We have ideas for solutions. So please listen to us.”

H.E Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General, Africa CDC, “Many countries here, they know what to do. But we don’t do that. In my continent, we don’t have clear statistics about mental health. We don’t have integration into primary healthcare, we don’t have budget for that. This is why if we change that…we’ll succeed.”

Bill Ready, CEO, Pinterest, “It should not be novel to be committed to the long-term well-being of your users, but unfortunately I think in the world of social media it is. I would like to wake up in the world where social media companies and tech companies are competing on their safety records in the same way the auto manufacturers compete on theirs. So we are just advocating for that and we are taking action on that.”

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO “Mental Health is not just included in the name of the meeting, it’s included in the ambitious targets in the draft political declaration specifically the target to see 150 million more people with access to mental health care by 2030.”

Learn more about our engagements at #UNGA80 and our priorities from the mental health community.

Faith Nassozi
United for Global Mental Health
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