Mental health conditions account for a large proportion of global disease burden due to a combination of high prevalence, most lifetime mental health conditions arising before adulthood, and a broad range of impacts across health including suicide, education, employment, social relationships, crime, violence and stigma. Poor mental wellbeing has a similar broad range of impacts. Crises such as pandemics and conflict further increase risk of mental health conditions, their relapse and poor mental wellbeing.

Effective public mental health (PMH) interventions exist to treat mental health conditions, prevent associated impacts, prevent mental health conditions from arising and promote mental wellbeing. Groups at higher risk of mental health conditions and poor mental wellbeing require targeted approaches to prevent widening of inequalities.

Globally however, only a minority of those with mental health conditions receive any treatment with far less coverage in low- and middle-income countries. Provision of interventions to prevent associated impacts is even lower, and provision of interventions to prevent mental health conditions or promote mental wellbeing is negligible. The public mental health implementation gap breaches the right to health and results in population scale preventable suffering, broad impacts and associated economic costs. Various reasons account for the gap including insufficient funding with only 2% of global health expenditure allocated to mental health (WHO, 2021).

The WPA’s Public Mental Health Working Group defined public mental health as a population approach to improve coverage, outcomes and coordination of PMH interventions .. This supports efficient, equitable and sustainable reduction in mental health conditions, promotion of population mental wellbeing and achievement of the UN SDG target of universal coverage.

Public mental health (PMH) occupied a central place in the WPA 2020-2023 Action Plan, which was supported by a Public Mental Health Working Group . The WPA’s 2023-26 Action Plan is also closely aligned with a public mental health approach and highlights that over the past decade, the WPA has broadened its mission to include the prevention of mental health conditions and promotion of good mental health.

The WPA PMH SIG will support the WPA’s 2023-26 Action Plan and continue the work of the WPA PMH Working Group to support:
1- Improved implementation of evidence-based PMH interventions in different countries in the following ways:

• Highlight opportunities to implement a variety of interventions in different cultural contexts, including for groups at increased risk of mental health conditions
• Support translation of evidence into practice
• Raise awareness, value, acceptance and prioritisation of PMH in national health policies
• Support national assessments of unmet mental health needs across diverse populations, and required actions, which then inform policy development and implementation.
• Support PMH training including through digital platforms
• Work with the WPA Medical Student Special Interest Group to support PMH training as well as sustainable reduction in medical student psychiatric morbidity
• Collaborate with the WPA Service Users and Family Supporters SIG
• Support integrated PMH approaches to disease management and prevention through engagement with primary care, general health systems, public health and other sectors

2- Collaboration with other organizations including WHO, World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), World Federation of
Public Health Associations (WFPHA), OECD, United Nations and World Bank 3- Disseminate PMH relevant work including publications, webinars, presentations and training resources

This Special Interest Group continues the activities of the WPA Public Mental Health Working Group which published the following:

• World Federation of Public Health Associations, World Organization of General Practitioners and World Psychiatric Association (2023) Public Mental Health Joint Statement
• World Psychiatric Association (2023) Position Statement on Public Mental Health
• World Social Psychiatry (2023) Public mental health – the case and required actions
• Lancet Psychiatry (2022) Public mental health: required actions to address implementation failure in the context of COVID-19
• Indian Journal of Psychiatry (2022) Public mental health: An opportunity to address implementation failure
• World Psychiatry (2022) WPA Working Group on Public Mental Health: objectives and recommended actions
• Lancet Psychiatry (2020) Addressing the public mental health challenge of COVID-19
• Indian Journal Psychiatry (2020) Public mental health and associated opportunities
• Indian Journal Psychiatry (2020) Mental health of migrants
• World Social Psychiatry (2020) The Need for a Public Mental Health Approach to COVID‑19
• World Psychiatric Association (2020) Public mental health briefing on COVID-19