MHE releases a position paper on mental health in the aftermath of COVID-19

As countries are entering into the recovery phase of COVID-19 pandemic, Mental Health Europe shares some guidance on the key challenges and opportunities for mental health in the aftermath of COVID-19.

The paper highlights that addressing the long-term socio-economic implications will become the key to success or failure for our societies. It focuses on the crucial moment for policy-makers to act wisely and to rethink approaches to mental health and implement structural changes in mental health support.

“The pandemic has put a spotlight on how social and economic determinants influence our mental health. If we want to avoid the pandemic to become a long-term social crisis, we need to provide a human rights-based response, moving beyond urgency-driven medical solutions and prioritising people’s social needs and ensuring their basic social rights instead,” says Claudia Marinetti, Director of Mental Health Europe.

“We are now in a decisive moment that will shape EU actions and funding for health for the years to come. The new EU4Health programme in the 2021-2027 EU budget should be an opportunity to address the range of social determinants of mental health in Europe. This will only be possible if we create a synergy between health and social funding and address social factors influencing mental health in health promotion interventions envisaged in the EU4Health Programme,” added Marcin Rodzinka, Advocacy and Policy Officer at Mental Health Europe.

Recommendations to national and European policy-makers, among others, include:

1. Promoting cross-sectoral collaboration and community-based services
2. Promoting basic social rights and ensuring economic protection
3. Investing in mental health literacy to tackle stigma and discrimination