One month until UK hosts Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit
Health leaders from around the world will gather in London next month to address the issue of mental ill-health.
The first ever Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit will take place in London on 9 and 10 October.
Political figures, experts by experience and policy-makers from around the world will come together at the summit with one common goal: better mental health for all.
The meeting will help countries work together to deal with stigma attached to mental health and address other issues to do with mental ill-health.
Leading voices in health and care are being asked sign a declaration committing to putting mental health on the same footing as physical health. Average global spend on mental health is just 2.8% of government health spending. In the UK that figure is around 9.5%.
Ahead of the summit, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has started a conversation about mental health. The social media campaign asks people what we need to change in how we see and treat mental health. People around the world are being invited to share their views on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TheWorldNeeds.
A number of high-profile mental health campaigners, charities and celebrity ambassadors have already lent their support to the campaign and upcoming summit. Time to Change, a global mental health campaign run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, is set to launch a global film at the event, featuring a Hollywood A-lister.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:
It is shocking that 1 in 4 people in the world will be affected by mental ill-health at some point in their lives and around 450 million people are currently living with a diagnosed mental ill-health condition.
For too long we have collectively failed to grasp the true magnitude of the problem. We owe it to everyone to put mental and physical health on an equal footing, to try and eradicate the apathy towards mental health once and for all. I urge policy-makers and leaders to put mental health at the front of their minds.
Last updated 17 September 2018 + show all updates
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Corrected dates of summit to 9 and 10 October.
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First published.