Strengthening Mental Health Science III

The World Health Organization is launching a coordinated push to embed mental health into national policies across Africa, starting with the continent's first mental health summit. This matters because mental health remains severely underfunded and under-prioritised in global health agendas, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where the gap between need and available care is widest. The initiative tackles this through three interconnected workstreams: strategic advocacy to secure high-level political commitment; strengthening the evidence base by monitoring a scalable psychological intervention and improving access to essential psychotropic medicines; and converting WHO's mhGAP guidelines into a more accessible, living format that keeps recommendations current. Crucially, people with lived experience of mental health conditions are systematically engaged across all activities, ensuring their perspectives shape both priorities and practice. If successful, this work could shift mental health from a neglected issue to a routine part of national health planning in Africa, making evidence-based treatments—including psychological interventions and essential medicines—more consistently available to the millions who currently lack access. The project is not fundamental science; it is implementation-focused, designed to close the gap between what research shows works and what actually reaches people.