The global burden of mental distress continues to grow, shaped by gaps in services. In low-middle income countries (LMICs), 90% of the population lacks access to any form of mental health care. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges as intersecting social realities deepen distress, increase the incidence of mental health disorders, and overburden health systems. Stigma towards the mentally ill co-exist with inequity in access to opportunities, rights and recognition. When it comes to mental health care, scaling-up services is important but not enough.

Understanding mental health outcomes requires that we understand the social, economic and cultural drivers that determine who gets ill, and who gets care, and where and how. What does it take to build inclusive services and overcome mistrust and miscommunication with hard-to-reach, often marginalised, populations? How do we build effective dialogues between health systems and local communities?

This panel will reflect on the connections between mental health and social justice building on academic, activist and community perspectives. Drawing on insights and experiences of STARS-C, an international, inter-institutional research partnership studying how community-led interventions can contribute to the design of health services in post-conflict Colombia, it will explore the political, social, and community actions that promote social change and good mental health for all.

Meet our speakers and chair

Rochelle Burgess is an Associate Professor in Global Health and Deputy Director of the UCL Centre for Global Non-Communicable Diseases, at the Institute for Global Health at UCL. She is interested in the promotion of community approaches to health globally, and views communities as a route to understanding and responding to the political economy of poor health, with a particular emphasis on the impacts of broader development issues such as poverty, gender, systems of governance, and community mobilisation (civil society). 

Maria Cecilia Dedios is an Associate Professor at the Los Andes University School of Government. Her work focuses on the relationship between social cognition, context, and culture, with an emphasis on youth violence, armed conflict, and mental health. In her work, María Cecilia predominantly uses qualitative and participatory methods at the community level, to inform public programs and policies.

Federico Montes is a signatory of the Final Peace Agreement between the FARC guerillas and the Colombian Government. As a member of the Coombuvipac Cooperative, he has been involved in planning and designing reincorporation processes for ex combatants at the local level. He is currently a member of the Comunes political party, and has been selected by them to be a delegate in the Commission for Monitoring, Promotion and Verification of the Implementation of the AFP (Final Peace Agreement).

Maxine Molyneux is Professor of Sociology and Director of the UCL Institute of the Americas until April 2014. Her current research is on the transformations of welfare systems in Latin America, citizen participation and accountability in social protection in Latin America; and the history and politics of Latin American feminism.

Patrick Vernon is a Clore and Winston Churchill Fellow, Fellow at Imperial War Museum, fellow of Royal Historical Society and former Associate fellow for the department of history of medicine at Warwick University. He has over twenty years’ senior experience working across mental health, public health, heritage and race equality and is well known in health, local government and the voluntary sector. Patrick is currently Associate Director for Connected Communities at the Centre for Ageing Better, Equality and Diversity Adviser to Lambeth Council, Chair of Citizens Partnership for Healthcare Investigation Branch (HSIB) and Senior Associate at OLMEC.

Sandra Jovchelovitch is a Professor of Social Psychology at LSE, and Director of the MSc program in Social and Cultural Psychology. Her research focuses on the psychology of public spheres and human development under contextual adversity. Sandra has extensive experience leading international cross-agency collaborations, and advised a wide range of international organisations including UNESCO and WHO. She continues to hold strong teaching and research links in Latin America.