Left to right: Prof. Patrick McGorry, Prof. Jo Robinson, Craig Hodges, Vivienne Browne, Nataya Branjerdporn.
As young people’s mental health continues to decline globally, Orygen leaders have been working alongside countries around the world to explore the drivers of mental ill-health, understand gaps in research and systems, and find solutions at this year’s World Health Assembly in Geneva.
The annual Assembly is the main decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), and brings together member states to agree on policies and priorities to drive better health and wellbeing outcomes globally.
It’s a cliché to say we’re at a turning point – a fork in the road. In this case, it’s true.
– WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his opening remarks this week.
Orygen Executive Director, Professor Patrick McGorry, said that now more than ever a global effort was needed to change the trajectory of youth mental health.
Prof. Patrick McGorry (left) presents at the Polish Embassy.
“As the WHO Director-General said of health worldwide, we have reached a fork in the road, and that is particularly true when it comes to youth mental health – either we tackle this now or we will see increasingly negative outcomes for future generations around the world,” Professor McGorry said.
“Young people are growing up in a world shaped by huge external forces – neoliberalism, global conflict, climate change – and at the same time, the systems set up to support them are at breaking point.
“We have the solutions, and Orygen is working globally to drive awareness, innovation and system reform.
“However, we need urgent action at all levels of government to address the structural forces driving distress and build new systems of youth mental health care to enable young people to recover from mental ill-health and serious mental illness.”
In a landmark moment for youth mental health at the Assembly, Australia’s leadership in the field was acknowledged with the announcement of Orygen as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Young People’s Mental Health, recognising its leading role globally and its capacity to drive innovation, knowledge exchange and reform into the future.
Orygen Global's Nataya Branjerdporn (left) and Orygen Director of Policy and Engagement, Vivienne Browne.
Orygen co-hosted three side events at this year’s meeting, bringing together policymakers, WHO leadership, civil society, young people and global partners to advance action on youth mental health, suicide prevention and digital wellbeing.
At the Building the Mental Wealth of Young People panel, co-hosted by headspace Denmark, representatives from Orygen discussed innovative approaches to the mental health workforce, including bringing lay counsellors into services to increase access to early support and bolster the availability of youth mental health support across the spectrum of needs. The event also saw the launch of an Implementation Guidance resource to support this approach.
The Protecting the Mental Health of Children and Youth in the Digital World event addressed the growing mental health impacts of digital technologies on young people. Hosted by the Polish Mission, the Poland, Australian, Cyprus and Indonesian Governments partnering to deliver the event which included addresses from the Australian Government Secretary for Health, Disability and Ageing, Mr Blair Comley, and Prof. Patrick McGorry.
Prof. Jo Robinson presents at a suicide prevention event at the World Health Assembly.
Finally, the Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, and Suicide Prevention event addressed the governance, safety, and ethical considerations at the intersection of digital technology and suicide prevention, particularly with the increasing prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The event, co-hosted between the International Association of Suicide Prevention, Orygen, Safe Online and Crisis Text Line, included Professor Jo Robinson on the sector panel discussion, and Nataya Branjerdporn, from Orygen Global, facilitating a youth panel. The event was one of three focused on suicide prevention, the first time this vital topic has been so high on the agenda at the World Health Assembly.
The conversation was timely following Orygen’s new report, commissioned by WHO, which lays out, for the first time, an international research agenda to better understand the relationship between digital environments (such as social media, gaming, generative AI and other platforms) and youth mental health.
Also at this year, Orygen was involved in the Youth Council and the first Youth Solutions Greenhouse.
The Greenhouse initiative created a space within the WHO for dialogue, collaboration, and engagement throughout World Health Assembly week, to strengthen ideas, social connection and youth participation. The initiative was led by the Youth Council's health education and literacy working group, which is co-chaired by Orygen Global's Nataya Branjerdporn.
Participants in the Youth Solutions Greenhouse at the World Health Assembly.