WHO: Only 7 African Countries Integrate Mental Health Into Primary Care

Hope Ajayi October 6, 2026 2 minutes read

ABUJA, Nigeria – Only seven of the 47 countries in the World Health Organisation’s African Region are implementing comprehensive mental health integration into primary healthcare, the WHO has said.

The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, disclosed this in his message to mark World Mental Health Day 2026, held under the theme, “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.”

Janabi said nearly 150 million people across Africa live with mental health, neurological or substance-use conditions, while limited access to care, stigma and discrimination continue to prevent many from receiving support.

He said government spending on mental health in the African Region remained extremely low, averaging just US0.07perperson,comparedwithUS2.69 globally.

Mental health services, he added, were often fragmented or concentrated in major urban centres, leaving many communities without access to care close to where they live.

Janabi called for people with lived experience of mental health conditions to have a greater role in developing policies and designing services. “Listening must lead to participation,” he said, urging countries to establish formal and sustained mechanisms for people with lived experience to contribute to mental health policy.

The WHO Regional Director said the organisation had begun creating opportunities for people with lived experience to participate in mental health initiatives across Africa.

He cited the Regional Mental Health Webinar Series and Mental Health Intercountry Learning Meetings held in South Africa and Togo as examples of initiatives developed with organisations representing people with psychosocial disabilities and other mental health partners.

Janabi also called for stronger national leadership and sustained financing to close Africa’s mental healthcare gaps.