The United Nations has reaffirmed the expertise and leadership of people with lived experience of mental health challenges on World Mental Health Day.
This year’s theme, “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change,” highlights how people are often excluded from decisions affecting their lives, despite their insights being essential to developing effective services and policies.
The UN said it is particularly important for young people facing economic uncertainty, climate anxiety and online harms, as well as people affected by conflicts and humanitarian crises, where disrupted services can worsen psychological distress.
More than 80% of countries currently provide mental health services in psychiatric hospitals, while many people with lived experience prefer to recover at home and in their communities, it said.
The UN has further called on governments to replace exclusion with partnership and invest in community-centred mental health care.
It has also urged renewed efforts to address stigma and build mental health systems grounded in dignity and human rights for all.
