IAMHRF convenes leaders in Cape Town to strengthen youth mental health

From 12–14 November 2025, IAMHRF brought together around 40 delegates in Cape Town, South Africa, for an in-person meeting focused on one of the most urgent challenges of our time: the mental health of young people.

Held at the end of a week that also hosted the 7th Global Mental Health Summit, the convening created a rare moment for funders, researchers, advocacy organisations, implementers, policymakers, experts by experience and, importantly, young people to meet as equals. Several IAMHRF members joined colleagues from across Africa and beyond to explore shared priorities and unblock barriers to progress.

Across the three days, discussions were energetic, frank and grounded. Delegates consistently highlighted the importance of centring young people and their lived experience, not only in research design but in leadership, decision-making and the evidence that travels through the system. Every participant had a voice, and the mix of perspectives from community-level implementers to major international funders brought fresh clarity to what meaningful collaboration can look like.

A number of shared themes stood out:

• Embedding implementation from the start. Delegates emphasised that research only has impact when it is anchored in communities and connected to practice. 

• Grounding research in what matters to young people. Our young advisors challenged the field to focus on constructs that reflect real experiences (such as safety, belonging and hope) and to measure what young people say matters most.

• Shifting power and widening access. There was strong appetite to explore models that open funding pathways to those who have traditionally been excluded, including youth-led organisations and low-resource settings. 

• Making collaboration routine. Participants called for more sustained, meaningful collaboration, locally and internationally, to support the kind of mission-driven, holistic work young people deserve. 

• Improving measurement. The group identified opportunities to improve how we measure wellbeing, align expectations across funders and reduce burdens on researchers and implementers. 

Looking forward to action

IAMHRF is now working with members and partners to take forward several strands of work, including follow-up on measurement, storytelling on ‘research in action’ and opportunities to support more devolved and context-responsive funding mechanisms. 

We will share further updates in early 2026, along with outputs from the meeting and additional reflections from delegates.

Reflections from meeting delegates

Watch brief reflections from some of the funders, researchers, implementers, lived experience advisors and young people who attended the meeting:

• Sinovyuo Fana, Waves for Change
• Shayni Geffen, South African Federation for Mental Health
• Raj Mariwala, Mariwala Health Initiative (IAMHRF Member)
• Mark van Ommeren, World Health Organization
• Parth Sharma, Aves Mental Health
• Denis Chopera, Science for Africa Foundation
• Aviwe Funani, United for Global Mental Health
• Kate Martin, Wellcome (IAMHRF Member)
• Godfrey Kagaayi, Twogere
• Aline Cossy-Gantner, Fondation Botnar (IAMHRF Member)
• Peter Templeton, The Foundation for Young People’s Mental Health
• Jose Peffer, Waves for Change