“The old normal used to mean that mental health issues were swept under the carpet. The new normal is making psychosocial well-being a central principle in our societies,” said Mr Alar Karis, President of Estonia, in a recorded address at the opening of the second meeting of the Pan-European Mental Health Coalition.
The aspiration for this new normal was on full display throughout the 2-day event held in Ankara on 23–24 November 2022 in conjunction with Türkiye’s annual conference on the Social Inclusion for Persons with Mental Disabilities project.
Informing and transforming mental health
Subtitled “Local action, regional transformation”, the Coalition’s second meeting was opened by a piano performance of J.S. Bach by Mr Buğra Çankır, the first doctoral student with autism in Türkiye, accompanied by the Ankara Music and Fine Arts University Orchestra.
The more than 300 in-person attendees were joined by nearly 200 online participants, including people with lived experience of mental health issues and representatives of governments, civil society, academic institutions and international organizations.
They heard of local efforts from across the WHO European Region to protect people’s right to mental health and well-being – such as actions in Norway and Malta to protect mental health in workplaces, and lessons learned from responding to the mental health needs of people affected by the war in Ukraine.
“We cannot rely on traditional modes of mental health care, which isolate those with mental health conditions. We cannot return to reactive, ad hoc policies and initiatives, under-resourced and limited in scope due to stigma,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, who spoke via video statement while on a mission in Ukraine.
Inclusion at the heart of effective action
Cutting across all sessions was the theme of better including people who stand to suffer the most from inaction, such as those living with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities, as well as older adults and young people, who are traditionally left out of decision-making on mental health.
Young people including Mr Dion Ras and Ms Inês Mália Sarmento elaborated on the demands they made during Mental Health Week in Athens, Greece. “We, the young members of the Pan-European Mental Health Coalition, want to co-produce a framework for youth participation,” Mr Ras said in their joint address. “We want to share best practices. We want to share what we’ve learned works and what we’ve learned does not work – because we’re the ones who are carrying out your plans for youth participation.”
The second meeting of the Coalition coincided with the third annual conference on the Social Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities project, an initiative of the Government of Türkiye that is co-funded by the European Union and WHO. The project aims at making mental health services less stigmatizing for people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities, and at better promoting recovery and living as part of the community.
The project’s annual conference was hosted alongside the Coalition meeting because it offers a particularly powerful example of cooperation between governments and international organizations, which the Coalition has at its heart.
“The Ministry of Health is eager to continue using a human-centred approach based on sustainability, development and providing the most effective services possible,” said Dr Tolga Tolunay, Deputy Minister of Health of Türkiye. “We have put our services into practice in line with the Coalition's principles.”
Next steps
Overall, the meeting revealed that the WHO European Region has innumerable resources and tools available for supporting mental health and well-being, but that they require greater investment and adaptation to specific local contexts.