Key areas for action

National ownership
Develop advocacy groups
Issues
Action plan
Resources
Questions to ask
Measures of success
Footnotes
Address stigma
Increase funding
Build care capacity
Build community services
Professional training
More treatment options
Engage carers & patients
Better data
Measures of success
Mental health - summary of key points

Develop advocacy groups > issues

'Policies that originate without the support of stakeholders are difficult to implement later on.'¹

• Carer organizations play a crucial role in advocacy, lobbying and raising awareness.
• Consumer and family organisations should be empowered in order to improve the accessibility and quality of mental health services.²
• They are also the majority workforce in terms of care provision for people with mental ill-health and deserve recognition
• Yet most carer organisations struggle with chronic shortages of funding
• Governments need to acknowledge that the work carried out by such organisations fills a gap unmet by the public sector (e.g. in developing local carer and family advocacy groups and providing carer support and training.)
• NGOs need to ensure that they have the appropriate legal status to allow them to act and be recognised as independent and credible organisations.