Resident Coordinator's Remarks for Annual International Mental Health Conference under the theme “Enhancing Collaboration for Violence Prevention and Social Wellbeing”

I am honored to address you all at this key initiative to promote cross-country learning on mental health and Thailand’s leadership in public health.

A month-long International Mental Health Workforce Training has just started its online phase, informing the agenda of this conference.

Mental health challenges are a global problem, accounting for a tenth of the global burden of disease.  

They are also acutely felt across the region. In recognition of this, with the support of WHO, the course is now being offered for the first time to participants from other countries, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and China.

In all these nations there is a pressing need for a paradigm shift towards creating sustainable “well-being societies” committed to equitable mental health for all.

Adding to the challenges is that poor mental health often remains invisible and left undiagnosed and untreated. Its scale is evidenced by the fact that stress, depression, and suicide are among the leading causes of death for young people.

Substance abuse is often a precursor to poor mental health.

This presents particular challenges in Thailand, which has become a hub of international drug trafficking, leading to a sharp increase in the availability of cheap methamphetamines.

As a result, there are more users, especially among the young and vulnerable, which is set to grow even further.

Substance abuse and poor mental health often precipitate violence.

That is why addressing this issue will be critical for interventions against violence, most of whose victims are women and children.

Globally, almost one in three women experience physical or sexual violence, according to WHO.

In most cases violence is perpetrated at home by a partner. In fact, as many as 38% of all murders of women are committed by an intimate partner.

Simultaneously, half of the world’s children, have also experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect.

They, too, frequently become victimized at home where they should feel the safest.

In Thailand, survey findings suggest that three-quarters of women have experienced domestic violence, most of them repeatedly.

Troublingly, more than 87% of the abused women have never sought help, highlighting the importance of community-centered health services to support victims of violence.

This will require training health workers and local volunteers. To that end, the country’s one million health volunteers, if trained in supporting mental wellbeing, could become an invaluable resource nationwide.

Such efforts can be transformative. Evidence from WHO shows that an increase in community-based mental health services have led to a remarkable decrease in inpatient admissions across Thailand.

We must also boost the evidence base by collecting data and conducting research to inform comprehensive actions.

Those actions should prioritize including mental health in the country’s basic welfare scheme.

As the prevention of violence will need to start at household level, we can leverage the Safe Home campaign by WHO in partnership with FIFA and the European Commission to support those at risk from domestic violence.

Another WHO campaign called INSPIRE is working to end violence against children by strengthening norms that support non-violent relationships.

Evidence shows that children witnessing domestic violence between parents tend to see violence as normal, which increases the chance that they will grow up using violence themselves.

Conversely, safe environments can foster positive behaviors, including a reduction in school-based bullying.

In this we can leverage an already well-established school-based mental health program with a three-pronged strategy: to provide mental health services to students, empower teachers to facilitate better mental healthcare, and integrate mental healthcare into curricula.

Just as importantly, it will be vital to remove stigmas on mental health by scaling up education and literacy through a whole-of-society approach.

The UN has been partnering with the government to raise awareness on mental health, invisible disabilities and preventing sexual exploitation through digital means.

These include leveraging online platforms, giant billboards, and convenience stores in several major cities nationwide together with the private sector.

These secured three million eyeballs on an average a day and provide a template for reaching millions, opening the space for dialogue to make the invisible visible for better mental health outcomes.

This conference provides an excellent opportunity to hear perspectives from across countries, exchange views and draw insights for informing policies and work plans for implementing community-based mental health services.

Progress on this will be critical as mental well being impacts all SDGs. With this in mind, the UN is bringing to bear a whole of system approach with a cross section of UN agencies engaged closely with WHO to take this forward.

I am looking forward to all the fruitful discussions.

Thank you.