UNITED NATIONS (Enmaeya News) — October 2, 2025
For the first time in its history, the United Nations General Assembly has placed mental health at the center of its official agenda — a move experts are calling a paradigm shift in global health priorities.
A Historic Session
On Thursday, delegates gathered at UN headquarters in New York to deliberate on mental health as a critical global issue, recognizing it as inseparable from the Sustainable Development Goals. This marks the Assembly’s inaugural session dedicated to mental health, underscoring the urgency of addressing mental disorders as part of health and development efforts worldwide.
Why It Matters
Mental health disorders affect billions globally, with depression, anxiety, substance abuse and related conditions among the leading causes of disability. Yet international commitments and funding remain limited.
Speakers highlighted three key challenges:
Interconnection: Mental health is linked to education, employment, gender equality, and social inclusion.
Vulnerability: Marginalized and conflict-affected populations face the greatest burdens and barriers to care.
Investment gap: Many governments devote only a fraction of health budgets to mental health, resulting in widespread treatment gaps and stigma.
Calls for Action
Member states, civil society groups, and health experts urged concrete steps, including:
Stronger national policies and rights-based legislation.
Integration of mental health into primary care.
Expanded financing, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Better data and measurement to track needs and funding.
Greater solidarity for countries emerging from conflict or crisis.
The overarching message: mental health must move from the margins to the core of global development.
What’s Next
As the 80th General Assembly continues, advocates expect new pledges and partnerships. They caution, however, that momentum must be matched by investment and implementation. Countries face the challenge of balancing scarce resources and tackling stigma while strengthening fragile health systems.
With mental health on the UN’s official agenda, campaigners argue, there is a rare opportunity to turn speeches into measurable change.
