Calling for a united front against mental health stigma and discrimination, representatives from BRICS countries have urged stronger cross-border cooperation to make mental healthcare more inclusive, accessible and responsive to the needs of children, adolescents and young people.

 

The call came at the 11th Together Against Stigma (TAS) Conference, where a high-level BRICS panel brought together representatives from India, Brazil, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Malaysia to identify common challenges and explore collaborative solutions to mental health stigma.

 

At the heart of the discussion was a clear message: young people and persons with lived experience must have a voice in shaping the policies and services that affect them. Reiterating the principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us”, panellists stressed that meaningful participation is essential to challenging stigma and opening up conversations about mental health in families, schools and communities.

 

The panel featured Nande Putta, Chief of Health, UNICEF India; Y. C. Janardhan Reddy, Director, NIMHANS; Dudu Shiba, Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, National Department of Health, Pretoria, South Africa; Khassanova Mariyam, Head of the Information and Analytical Monitoring Center and Psychiatrist, Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health, Ministry of Health, Kazakhstan; and Syed Mohd Hamzah Bin Syed Ab Hamid, Senior Deputy Director, Institute Pendidikan Guru Malaysia.

 

Schools emerged as a critical frontline in tackling mental health challenges, with panellists emphasising the need to identify distress early and connect young people to appropriate support. Brazil's experience of training teachers to recognise psychological distress among students and linking schools with public health services was cited as an example of how education systems can play a crucial role in early intervention.

 

The discussion also underscored the need to move beyond institutional care towards stronger community-based mental health services. Panellists called for evidence-led policy reforms, greater scrutiny of laws and practices that discriminate against people with mental health conditions, and stronger partnerships to share research, professional expertise and successful interventions across BRICS countries.

 

They also stressed that mental health programmes must be affordable, culturally relevant and tailored to the realities of local communities.

 

Highlighting India's efforts to strengthen the mental healthcare workforce, YC Janardhan Reddy, Director, NIMHANS, pointed to the growing reach of the National Digital Academy.

 

“We are very proud of the National Digital Academy and its growing contribution to strengthening mental healthcare capacity across the country. With 38 accredited courses and 72 programs, the Academy has reached healthcare professionals in every state of India and trained nearly 50,000 professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, medical officers, counsellors, and social workers. Through continuous training and capacity-building, we aim to equip healthcare professionals with the skills needed to strengthen mental health services across the country.”

 

The BRICS Training Hub Network and the BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence, with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) serving as the coordinating Centre of Excellence, were identified as key platforms to deepen research partnerships, build professional capacity and facilitate knowledge exchange among member countries.

 

Emphasising the importance of international knowledge-sharing, Prof. Pallab Maulik, Director of Research, The George Institute for Global Health India, said: "The discussions at the conference highlighted the importance of sharing experiences and learning from approaches being adopted across countries, particularly within the BRICS region, to address mental health challenges. Sharing research findings and practical experiences helped participants identify effective approaches and explore how evidence can inform stronger mental health responses.”

 

Research-backed, community-specific interventions also took centre stage, with evidence from The George Institute for Global Health India's ARTEMIS and SATHI studies highlighting the potential of targeted anti-stigma campaigns.

 

The ARTEMIS study, conducted among adolescents in urban slums, and the SATHI study, involving tribal populations, demonstrated how interventions designed around the specific needs and circumstances of different communities can improve attitudes towards people with mental health problems and contribute to better mental health outcomes.

 

Y.K. Sandhya, Program Lead – Mental Health, The George Institute for Global Health India, said: "Our experience with anti-stigma campaigns, including through the ARTEMIS and SATHI studies, has shown that interventions tailored to different communities and contexts can make a difference. 

 

"Although these studies involved very different populations, the campaigns helped improve attitudes towards people with mental health problems and reduce depression and anxiety among adolescents. This underlines the importance of developing approaches that are grounded in the realities of the communities they seek to reach.”

 

Marking a significant milestone, this is the first time the Together Against Stigma Conference is being hosted in a Global South country, bringing the BRICS nations into sharper focus as they seek collective solutions to one of the most persistent barriers to mental healthcare: stigma.