The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, has called for people living with mental health conditions to play a stronger role in shaping policies, services and programmes designed to address mental health challenges across the continent.
Janabi made the call in his message marking World Mental Health Day 2026, observed under the theme, “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.”
He said mental health affects every aspect of people’s lives, including how they learn, work, relate with others and contribute to their communities.
According to him, close to 150 million people across Africa live with mental health, neurological or substance use conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, and alcohol and other substance use disorders.
He noted that despite the scale of the challenge, many people across the continent still lack access to the care and support they need, while stigma and discrimination continue to discourage people from seeking assistance.
The WHO Regional Director said the experiences of people directly affected by mental health conditions could help identify gaps in existing services and determine forms of support that better protect dignity and human rights.
“For too long, individuals have been invited to share their personal stories but excluded from the decisions that follow. Listening must lead to participation,” Janabi said.
He urged governments and health authorities to involve people with lived experience in developing policies, designing services and strengthening peer-led initiatives.
Janabi said their contributions, combined with clinical and public health expertise, could make mental health services more responsive and accountable.
He disclosed that WHO was already creating opportunities for such participation in the African Region, noting that people with lived experience served as key facilitators during the organisation’s Regional Mental Health Webinar Series and Mental Health Intercountry Learning Meetings held in South Africa and Togo.
The initiatives, he said, were implemented in collaboration with the Pan African Network of People with Psychosocial Disabilities, Aves Mental Health and United for Global Mental Health.
He added that the same approach was reflected in the recently published Mental Health in Africa Investment Case by the WHO Regional Office for Africa, which advocates stronger community-based services, protection of human rights and sustained involvement of service users.
According to Janabi, integrating mental health into primary healthcare remains central to efforts to achieve universal health coverage across the continent.
However, he said significant gaps remain in mental healthcare provision in Africa.
“Only seven of the 47 countries in the WHO African Region are implementing comprehensive mental health integration into primary care,” he said.
He added that average government expenditure on mental health in the region stood at US$0.07 per person, compared with US$2.69 globally.
Janabi further observed that mental health services were often fragmented or concentrated in major urban centres, leaving many communities without access to support close to home.
He called for stronger national leadership and increased and sustained financing to address the challenges.
On World Mental Health Day, the WHO Regional Director urged Member States to establish formal and sustained mechanisms for the participation of 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, rights-based 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,” Janabi said.
“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.”
