Reflections from the 7th Global Mental Health Summit
10-12 November 2025
L to R: Action Amos, Lucinda Manda-Taylor, Sisikelelwe Gwanya-Mdletye, Tina W. Masai
Five members of the AGMHI’s Advocacy and Policy Working Group participated in the 7th Global Mental Health Summit from 10-12 November 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. The summit brought together renowned experts and thought leaders from around the world to engage in critical discussions on the current state of mental health and chart a course for the future. It aimed to enhance evidence-informed mental health by engaging policymakers, researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience, and to foster collaboration and innovative solutions.
During the summit, the project team of The British Academy funded grant titled “Critical Analysis of Inclusive Evidence-Informed Mental Health Policymaking in Africa” presented a poster through the representation of Tina W. Masai (Kenya). Other project teams represented by Lucinda Manda-Taylor and Action Amos from Malawi as well as Sisikelelwe Gwanya-Mdletye and Olindah Silaule from South Africa also took part in the summit to share the project. The poster presentation attracted many audience members and generated meaningful discussions.
Key highlights from the summit:
Created a discussion with regional and international experts
Received feedback that can improve the project and dissemination
Enhanced the visibility and social impact of our project
Created engagement with important organizations and funding agencies
Opened opportunity to network and potentially collaborate with other researchers and organisations
Attending the summit offered a great opportunity to showcase the project, which enhanced the visibility and networking of the advocacy teams. It also helped us to implement the social mission of our project by disseminating our research through poster presentations. The team will integrate the feedback received during the summit and will explore potential collaborative projects from the new connections made. We want to extend our appreciation to the organizing committee and all colleagues who contributed to the preparation and poster presentation.
By Selamawit Alemayehu Tessema, MD, MPH
