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Jérôme Salomon: New WHO guidance calls for urgent transformation of mental health policies

Jérôme Salomon/LinkedIn

Mar 26, 2025, 17:26

Jérôme Salomon: New WHO guidance calls for urgent transformation of mental health policies

Professor Jérôme Salomon, Assistant Director General ADG SDG at World Health Organization, shared on LinkedIn:

“New World Health Organization guidance calls for urgent transformation of mental health policies

The WHO today launched new guidance to help all countries reform and strengthen mental health policies and systems

Mental health services worldwide remain underfunded, with major gaps in access and quality. In some countries, up to 90% of people with severe mental health conditions receive no care at all, while many existing services rely on outdated institutional models that fail to meet international human rights standards

The guidance provides a clear framework to transform mental health services in line with the latest evidence and international human rights standards, ensuring quality care is accessible to all

‘Despite rising demand, quality mental health services remain out of reach for many people,’ said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO DG. ‘This new guidance gives all governments the tools to promote and protect mental health and build systems that serve everyone.’

A blueprint for mental health care transformation

While effective prevention and treatment interventions exist, most people living with mental health conditions do not have access to these.

The new WHO guidance sets out concrete actions to help countries close these gaps and ensure mental health is promoted and protected, with a focus on:

protecting and upholding human rights, ensuring mental health policies and services are aligned with international human rights standards
promoting holistic care with an emphasis on lifestyle and physical health, psychological, social, and economic interventions
addressing social and economic factors that shape and affect mental health including employment, housing and education:
implementing prevention strategies and promote population-wide mental health and well-being
ensuring people with lived experience are empowered to participate in policy planning and design to ensure mental health policies and services are responsive to their needs

The guidance identifies five key policy areas requiring urgent reform: leadership and governance, service organization, workforce development, person-centred interventions, and addressing social and structural determinants of mental health

A tailored approach to strengthening mental health systems

The WHO guidance serves as a critical tool for governments, policymakers, and stakeholders working to strengthen mental health systems and improve access to mental health care

By offering a menu of policy directives, strategies and actions to guide reform efforts, the guidance supports policy makers to prioritize and tailor policies to their specific national context, in line with their available resources and operational structures

The guidance was developed in consultation with global experts, policymakers and individuals with lived experience”