The Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit and the Lancet Commission: Some Uncomfortable Reflections By China Mills

China Mills (University of Sheffield) writes in Mad in Asia today her thoughts on the Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit and the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development. China Mills is a Lecturer in the School of Education, University of Sheffield, UK. Her research develops the framework of psychopolitics to examine the way mental health gets framed as a global health priority. In 2014, she published the book ‘Decolonizing Global Mental Health’ (Routledge).

"In launching the Commission, Vikram Patel made clear that ‘there’s no way a single report by 28 people can include every perspective’, and that the commissioners aimed to recognise differences in point of views and encourage criticality. I think this is great. But it would have been even better if these different perspectives could have been engaged with in the writing of this Report. ‘Deeds not words’ is the slogan often used and much tweeted in relation to mental health, and it applies here too – to both the organisation of the Summit and the writing of the Lancet Commission. Both need to enact the principles they espouse and engage with individuals and groups who have long been radically reframing mental health.”

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