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Published June 13, 2021
Mental Health on the Final G7 Communiqué as a Direct Result of the Youth 7’s Policy Recommendations
Category: Y7
Mental health is featured on the final G7 communique, as a direct result of the Youth 7’s policy recommendations. In their Carbis Bay Communiqué released today, world leaders recognise that “the pandemic has left no one untouched, impacting not only physical health but also mental health and social wellbeing”, as a confirmed consequence of young people’s continuous campaign for the G7 to acknowledge and address the mental health crisis.

On Thursday, Johnson had told Evie Aspinall, U.K. Head Delegate from the Youth 7, that he would push G7 leaders to include a statement on mental health “because of what young people had been saying to him”.

Commenting, Sophie Daud, CEO of the Future Leaders Network, said:

“I am pleased that world leaders today have listened to the voices of over 10,000 young people and acknowledged the impact of the pandemic on mental health. Whilst this is a positive first step, it is shocking that this was not on their agenda before young people’s intervention, and falls short of the decisive action needed to tackle the ongoing mental health crisis.

Young people called on world leaders to destigmatise mental health; to make mental health provisions more affordable and accessible; and to co-create radically transformed services with young people as partners instead of patients. Simply ‘acknowledging’ the issue doesn’t do anything to support young people in crisis, struggling with their mental health alone.

We join our fellow Engagement Groups in regretting that the G7 2021 has not lived up to many of its ambitious hopes and expectations – on mental health, on girls’ education, vaccine distribution and climate finance, amongst others. World leaders today missed the opportunity to lead the world by putting progressive, inclusive policies, such as mental health support, at the forefront of the global recovery. Young leaders call on Boris Johnson to prioritise bold, ambitious leadership at the upcoming COP26 Summit.”

Commenting, Haarith Ndiaye, the UK Health Delegate, said:

“The inclusion of mental health in the communique this year is an encouraging step in the right direction. This is a testament to the commitment of the Y7 pushing for mental health to be included in the agenda and also shows that the youth voice is acknowledged by those in power. Needless to say, a lot more action is required to truly bring about the reforms that are needed. However, we hope this can serve as the catalyst for change.”

The Y7 has been advocating for the importance of mental health, and other key priorities across the economy, health, environment and digital and technology since February 2021.

In May 2021, after consulting with 10,000 young people around the world, young leaders from each of the G7 countries, plus the EU and Australia, announced their recommendations for world leaders.

The Y7 representatives have been presenting their priorities, especially mental health, at G7 Ministerial meetings, and have discussed their recommendations on mental health services with the U.K. G7 Sherpa, Jonathan Black, on two separate occasions – at the Y7 Summit and at a session for engagement groups to express priorities.

A survey of 2,000 young people, commissioned by the Future Leaders Network and conducted by Opinium, showed that 56% of the UK’s youth ranked mental health as their top health priority. Similar surveys across the G7 found that mental health consistently ranked top or highly across every geography.

The youth recommendations have focused on “Making Waves for Future Generations”. Envisaging a world which recognises the mental health needs of its recipients, the youth delegates had called on G7 leaders to:

  • Introduce mental health stigma eradication measures through incorporating educational curricula changes and targeted campaigns immediately, and train young people so they can adequately support their peers facing mental health crises;

  • Provide universal, accessible, affordable mental health care services both as part of primary care provision and in convenient environments such as educational and workplace settings, where youth may seek help;

  • Include youth directly in designing, delivering, promoting and evaluating mental health services intended for them by valuing their expertise and lived experience through data- based processes, including disaggregated data analyses.

The Youth 7 (Y7) is one of six engagement groups supported by the U.K. Government during its 2021 G7 Presidency, with the others being the Business 7, Civil Society 7, Labour 7, Science 7 and Women 7.

The Y7 2021 is hosted by the Future Leaders Network and the Summit took place virtually on 8 – 9 May and 14 – 15 May.

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