Across the United Nations system, mental health has increasingly been recognized as a fundamental human right. However, the mental health and well-being of children and youth remain largely unaddressed as a distinct global priority, with no dedicated UN resolution or unified framework that fully reflects their unique developmental needs. While references to mental health have grown within UN policies, specific focus on children and adolescents remains limited, contributing to fragmented approaches and chronic underinvestment, particularly in prevention and early intervention, despite evidence supporting scalable and cost-effective solutions.
Globally, approximately 1 in 7 adolescents aged 10–19 experience mental health conditions, yet most go unrecognized and untreated. Suicide rates among young people aged 10–24 are increasing in many countries, while the latest Mental Health Atlas data reveal that only 56 percent of countries have a dedicated or integrated child and youth mental health policy. Even fewer provide community- or school-based mental health services for this age group. Addressing this challenge requires coordinated, cross-sectoral action spanning education, health, social protection, climate, digital, and cultural sectors, grounded in rights-based, inclusive frameworks that leave no young person behind, including those in humanitarian or fragile settings.
Despite growing recognition of mental health in UN frameworks, significant policy gaps remain for children and youth. These include the absence of dedicated resolutions, lack of age-specific commitments in global policies, missing mechanisms to ensure meaningful youth participation in shaping mental health services, and limited oversight to track existing policy and financing commitments.
To address these gaps, a joint call urges elevating child and youth mental health as a standalone global policy and investment priority. This includes integrating it explicitly into future UN resolutions, human rights frameworks, and global monitoring mechanisms aligned with the 2030 Agenda. The call also emphasizes the need for a unified inter-agency and multi-stakeholder platform—including UNESCO, UNICEF, the UN Youth Office, WHO, Member States, youth networks, and civil society—to enhance coherence, provide technical guidance, and align financing and accountability across sectors.
Member States are encouraged to adopt national child and adolescent mental health strategies aligned with the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan and UNICEF-WHO joint programs, incorporating human rights, disability inclusion, and community-based approaches. Policies should also reflect the 2023 UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development, ensuring safe, inclusive learning environments that promote overall well-being.
Meaningful child and youth participation is central to policy design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, positioning young people as equal partners rather than passive beneficiaries. Investment should prioritize prevention, promotion, and protection through ecosystem- and whole-of-society approaches, linking community, school, and digital services with education, health, arts, sports, climate, and protection systems to nurture supportive environments. Finally, integrating core mental health indicators into broader child and youth monitoring systems—including household surveys and national information systems—will strengthen accountability, equity, and cross-sectoral visibility of progress.
