UN Youth Office panel urges youth-centered, cross-ministry approach to mental health ahead of SDG Summit

At the SDG Media Zone during the ECOSOC Youth Forum at UN headquarters, UN Youth Office staff and youth representatives on Friday described a new Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Flagship Initiative and urged national leaders to adopt youth-centered, interministerial approaches ahead of the SDG Summit.

"We mapped 700 youth-led organizations from all five continents," said Martha Barreneche, Youth Advocacy and Wellbeing International Specialist at the UN Youth Office, describing the initiative'which she said was launched under the office's young ASG, Felipe Paullier. Barreneche said the flagship takes an "ecosystemic approach" that recognizes 10 dimensions of youth life and treats mental health as more than clinical care.

The initiative emphasizes youth co-design and community-based prevention. Barreneche pointed to small-group exercises in which many young people reported very small support networks during times of distress: "Of 30 young people in that room, none had more than five people [to turn to], and seven had zero," she said, using the finding to argue for peer networks and local supports.

Panelists also highlighted how contemporary pressures'including social media, rapid labor-market change and political polarization'shape youth wellbeing. Leticia Catiavara of the UN Youth Office Youth Reference Group described social-media driven self-comparison as a common stressor and said many young people cope by taking breaks from platforms and practicing self-compassion: "I try to tell myself that it's okay to feel overwhelmed," she said.

When asked what ministers overlook, speakers pointed to the wellbeing of the mental-health workforce itself. Catiavara warned of burnout among psychiatrists and psychologists and noted limited professional capacity in some countries: "One psychiatrist may need to take care of about 1,000 people," she said, urging that workforce support be part of policy planning.

Speakers recommended that ministries of health coordinate policies with ministries of education, labor and culture to build environments that protect and promote youth mental health rather than relying on health ministries alone. "You cannot solve the problem once and for all; we need an environment and atmosphere around youth life that protects and promotes youth mental health," Barreneche said.

Panelists said the conversation at ECOSOC and the inputs collected from youth are intended to shape mental-health elements of the coming SDG Summit, with an emphasis on people-centered, youth-driven policy. As a practical public message, several panelists urged adults and policymakers to normalize help-seeking and to acknowledge that "it's okay to be tired," a phrase several speakers repeated as a takeaway for young people and decision-makers.

The session closed with thanks to participants and a note that youth participation and convening spaces such as the ECOSOC Youth Forum are central to the flagship'and to the initiative's next steps toward influencing SDG Summit outcomes.