Agency urges greater funding, community-based care

By Chidinma Chukwu, Abuja

Nearly 150 million people across Africa are living with mental health, neurological or substance use conditions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said, calling for greater investment in mental healthcare across the continent.

The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, disclosed this in his message on the 2026 World Mental Health Day theme, “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.”

Janabi said conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, and alcohol and other substance use disorders continued to affect individuals, families and communities across Africa.

He also noted that stigma and discrimination remained significant barriers preventing many affected people from seeking help.

According to him, major gaps persist in mental healthcare provision across the continent.

“Only seven of the 47 countries in the WHO African Region are implementing comprehensive mental health integration into primary care,” he said.

Janabi said average government spending on mental health in the region stood at only US$0.07 per person, compared with US$2.69 globally.

He added that mental healthcare was often fragmented or concentrated in major urban centres, leaving many communities without access to appropriate services close to home.

The WHO official called for people living with mental health conditions to have a stronger role in shaping policies and services designed to support them.

He said the experiences of people with lived experience could help identify gaps in existing services, determine effective forms of support and ensure that care respected their dignity and rights.

He said their perspectives, combined with clinical and public health expertise, could make mental health services more responsive and accountable.

“Today, on World Mental Health Day 2026, under the theme ‘Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change’, I call for those directly affected by mental health conditions to be given a stronger role in shaping the policies and services that affect their lives.

“Their experience can show us where services fall short, what forms of assistance make a difference, and how care can fully respect people’s dignity and rights. Listening to these voices is essential if we are to build mental health systems that are responsive, inclusive and effective,” Janabi said.

He said WHO was creating more opportunities for people with lived experience to participate in mental health programmes across the African Region.

Janabi noted that people with lived experience had served as key facilitators in the organisation’s Regional Mental Health Webinar Series and Mental Health Intercountry Learning Meetings in South Africa and Togo.

He said the initiatives were developed and delivered in collaboration with the Pan African Network of People with Lived Experience of Psychosocial Disability, allowing affected people to contribute directly to discussions on mental healthcare.

According to him, the approach was also reflected in the recently published Mental Health in Africa Investment Case by the WHO Regional Office for Africa.

He said the report called for stronger community-based services, protection of human rights and sustained involvement of people who use mental health services.

It also places the integration of mental health into primary healthcare at the centre of efforts to advance universal health coverage, he added.

Janabi called for stronger national leadership and increased, sustained financing to address gaps in mental healthcare across Africa.

He urged member states to establish formal and sustained mechanisms for involving people with lived experience in mental health decision-making.

He also called on health professionals, civil society organisations and development partners to support the leadership of people with lived experience and help bring compassionate mental healthcare closer to communities.

“As WHO, we are committed to working alongside Member States and communities to expand accessible and rights-based care throughout the Region.

“Real voices can drive real change. Together, we can build mental health systems with those who use them, and ensure they respond optimally to the lives people lead,” Janabi said.