Plenary 3: Advancing mental health in all policies to promote and protect youth mental health and wellbeing: a cross sectoral imperative for Europe's youth and economy 

Thursday 13 November, 10:30 – 11:30 Helsinki time

Organised by WHO Regional Office for Europe 

Background

In recent years, youth mental health has emerged as a critical challenge across Europe, with alarming trends indicating a significant decline in the mental and emotional well-being of young people. According to various studies, rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm have increased markedly among children and young people, prompting concern from healthcare professionals, policymakers, and educators alike.

Factors contributing to this decline include academic pressures, the unprecedented disruptions caused by global events such as conflict, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the pervasive influence of social media and digital technologies. While the digital world presents opportunities for learning and connection, it also exposes young people to a range of risks, including cyberbullying, social comparison, and unrealistic portrayals of life. Studies have shown that excessive use of social media can lead to heightened feelings of anxiety and depression, as young people grapple with the pressures to curate a perfect online persona. The hyper-connected nature of digital life can also contribute to social isolation, as in-person interactions diminish in favour of virtual communication.

Addressing this decline in mental health and well-being is not only a critical public health concern, but is rapidly emerging as a key cross-sectoral priority. There is increasing recognition that the broad drivers of youth mental and wellbeing cannot be addressed by the health sector alone; at the same time inaction will have far reaching societal and economic impacts. If left unaddressed and untreated, poor mental health amongst young people can have significant lifetime consequences in terms of increased mortality, lost educational and employment opportunities, reduced lifetime earnings, social exclusion, and poor physical and mental health outcomes. In the context of significant pressure on government budgets, recent dialogues have highlighted concerns of the impacts of young people's poor mental health on unemployment and labour markets, economic growth and tax sustainability.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe in partnership with the Ministry of Health of France convened a high-level meeting in June 2025 to build commitment of member states to advance a Mental Health in All Policies approach. The meeting was convened under the WHO/European Commission’s flagship initiative Addressing Mental Health Challenges in the EU, Iceland and Norway, in response to a consistent request from member states for support from WHO Europe to build capacity in cross-sectoral policy making and partnerships. This groundbreaking meeting brought together over 200 participants from 34 countries and across multiple sectors and public health agencies to explore the ways in which shared responsibility for mental health policy-making and outcomes could reap rewards for individuals, health systems and economies across the European region. A key theme of the event was the urgent need for all sectors responsible for the determinants of youth mental health to take greater responsibility for developing policies and programmes which promote and protect young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

This session incorporating a keynote presentation and panel discussion aims to report back from the Paris high-level meeting to disseminate outcomes and identified actions needed to promote youth mental health in all policies, with a focus on addressing the digital determinants of youth mental health and well-being and cross-sectoral action and investments that have co-benefits for young people and for economic development across Europe.

Moderators:

• Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of Health Systems, WHO Regional Office for Europe
• Sophie Eicher, EUPHAnxt and Freie Universität Berlin