Youth Mental Health Spotlighted at U.S. Launch of the Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing

Orientation to Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing

Speakers

• Dr. Sabine Kleinert, Senior Executive Editor at The Lancet
• Dr. Tina Mensa-Kwao, Youth Commissioner, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Dr. Pamela Y. Collins, Commissioner, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Summary

The opening panel introduced the Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, highlighting why a renewed global focus on adolescent mental health is urgently needed. Dr. Sabine Kleinert traced The Lancet’s long-standing work in adolescent health and explained how new pressures—COVID-19, climate anxiety, conflict, commercial influences, and digital harms—have intensified risks for young people. The new Commission issues a clear call to action centered on creating supportive environments, strengthening systems, and developing innovative, youth-partnered solutions. 

Youth Commissioner, Dr. Tina Mensa-Kwao, emphasized the Commission’s commitment to genuine youth leadership, from co-leading workstreams to shaping global solution labs. Commissioner, Dr. Pamela Collins, outlined current mental health trends, noting that one in seven adolescents worldwide lives with a mental disorder, yet investments remain strikingly low. She underscored the remarkable opportunities for thriving in adolescence and the “triple dividend” of investing in adolescent health, concluding with a reminder that there is no adolescent health without mental health.  

Watch recording

Setting the Stage for a Focus on Adolescent Mental Health Action: Implications and Opportunities of the Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing

Speakers

• Dr. Fouzia Shafique, UNICEF
• Dr. Renato Oliveira, Pan American Health Organization
• Deputy Secretary Alyssa Lord, Behavioral Health, Maryland Department of Health
• Moderator: Dr. Pamela Collins, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Summary

The panel “Setting the Stage for a Focus on Adolescent Mental Health Action” brought together global, regional, and local perspectives on the urgent need to strengthen adolescent mental health systems. Dr. Fouzia Shafique (UNICEF) highlighted the scale of unmet need, noting that adolescents everywhere face complex and overlapping challenges—from conflict and displacement to substance use, school dropout, and digital harms. She emphasized UNICEF’s three-pronged approach: investing more resources in community-based and school-based mental health services; integrating health, education, social protection, and digital sectors; and meaningfully including adolescents and their families in designing strategies and solutions. Without decisive action, she warned, the global economic burden of inaction will continue to rise dramatically, with the Lancet Commission estimating potential losses of nearly 8% of global GDP.  

Dr. Renato Oliveira (PAHO) described the Americas as a region facing a profound adolescent mental health crisis, with fewer than half of countries having dedicated adolescent mental health policies. Yet he pointed to promising models—including Chile’s nationwide effort to train teachers to identify and support youth in distress—showing that strategic, multisectoral action can reduce adolescent suicide and strengthen resilience. He emphasized the need to increase financial and human resources, integrate mental health into primary care, and elevate youth voices in national policy development, particularly at the country level where engagement remains limited. 

Deputy Secretary Alyssa Lord (Maryland Department of Health) offered a grounded local perspective, underscoring the state’s rising rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, and co-occurring conditions. She described Maryland’s investments in expanding crisis response through 988, mobile crisis units, and school-based partnerships—replacing law enforcement responses with mental health professionals and improving warm handoffs for youth and families. Lord emphasized the need to reduce bureaucratic barriers, improve access in rural areas through telehealth and mobile services, and design youth-centered systems that respond quickly and respectfully to the needs of diverse communities. Together, the speakers highlighted the actionable opportunities illuminated by the Second Lancet Commission: scale investments, coordinate sectors, strengthen community-based supports, and embed adolescents themselves at the heart of mental health action. 

Watch recording

What’s the Situation? Understanding Global Data for Adolescent Wellbeing 

Speakers

• Dr. Shoshanna Fine, Investigator, Global Early Adolescent Survey, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Dr. Jennifer Seager, Investigator, Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence Study, George Washington University
• Moderator: Ms. Mansurat Raji, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Summary

The panel “What’s the Situation? Understanding Global Data for Adolescent Wellbeing” explored what large-scale international studies reveal about the realities facing adolescents today. Dr. Shoshanna Fine presented insights from the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS), which follows young people over time to understand how gender norms shape their health and wellbeing. She noted that early adolescence is a critical developmental window—one in which rigid gender expectations begin to intensify and influence mental health, relationships, violence exposure, and access to opportunities. GEAS data show consistent global patterns: girls often experience more restrictions and pressures around behavior and safety, while boys face expectations of independence and emotional suppression. Both sets of pressures carry long-term mental health consequences when not addressed. 

Dr. Jennifer Seager shared findings from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) study, one of the largest longitudinal research efforts following adolescents across diverse low- and middle-income settings. She highlighted striking disparities in safety, schooling, digital access, and health outcomes between boys and girls, as well as strong evidence that structural disadvantages—poverty, conflict, and discriminatory norms—shape trajectories into adulthood. GAGE data demonstrate that investments in education, social protection, and gender-equitable community environments can significantly buffer the impacts of early adversity. 

Together, the speakers emphasized that global data make one message clear: adolescent wellbeing is deeply shaped by gendered environments and social systems, not just individual behaviors. Moderator Mansurat Raji underscored that these findings provide essential direction for policymakers—showing where interventions are most needed and how early investments can transform lifelong outcomes. 

Watch recording

From Evidence to Action – Centering Youth Voices in Mental Health Policy, Practice and Research 

Speakers

• Mr. Jorge Alvarez, Mental Health America
• Mr. Diogo Fortes, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Ms. Nikita Ghodke, NYU Langone Health
• Moderator: Dr. Augustina Mensa-Kwao, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Summary

The panel “From Evidence to Action — Centering Youth Voices in Mental Health Policy, Practice, and Research” highlighted how young leaders are moving beyond being research subjects to becoming co-designers of mental health solutions. Moderator Dr. Augustina Mensa-Kwao guided a conversation with Jorge Alvarez, Diogo Fortes, and Nikita Ghodke, who each defined meaningful youth engagement as shared power—where young people shape decisions, not just advise or participate in focus groups. They emphasized that youth bring lived expertise, cultural insight, and credibility among their peers, and that institutions must remake structures to involve young people from the start of policy, program, and research design.  

Panelists shared examples of youth-led work that translated evidence into action, including national peer-support tools created through co-design. They also discussed what makes inclusion real—paying youth for their contributions, using plain language, building capacity to participate, creating accessible spaces, and recognizing that young people from different contexts experience mental health differently. The core message was clear: youth are innovators and trusted messengers, and centering their leadership is essential to driving meaningful change in mental health systems. 

Watch recording

Megatrends and Youth Mental Health  

Speakers

• Dr. Johannes Thrul - Social media and the digital environment, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Dr. Cecilia Dedios - Urban violence and conflict, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Dr. Theresa Betancourt – Work and mental health interventions, Boston College
• Dr. Sean Joe - Understanding adolescent boys and young men and mental health, Washington University in St. Louis
• Ms. Jennifer Uchendu – Environmental stressors and mental health, SustyVibes
• Moderator: Dr. Brandon Kohrt, George Washington University Center for Global Mental Health Equity 

Summary

The panel “Megatrends and Youth Mental Health” explored the large-scale forces shaping adolescent wellbeing today, emphasizing that these global trends are rapidly transforming the lived experience of young people everywhere. Moderator Dr. Brandon Kohrt framed the discussion around shared challenges across contexts: the expansion of social media and digital environments, rising exposure to community and gender-based violence, the mental health toll of humanitarian crises, and climate anxiety. Panelists highlighted that these trends affect identity formation, daily stress, and opportunity. Dr. Johannes Thrul discussed the dual nature of digital spaces, noting their role in elevating risks but also their potential for real-time, user-centered interventions. Dr. Cecilia Dedios illustrated how poverty, political conflict, and violence intersect to shape youth mental health, underscoring the importance of participatory research and co-development with adolescents.  

The conversation then expanded to examine how broader structural forces, such as work conditions, gender expectations, and environmental pressures, directly influence young people’s mental health and resilience. Dr. Theresa Betancourt drew on decades of work in conflict-affected settings to show how resilience and long-term recovery are possible when communities have access to strong mental health systems. Dr. Sean Joe highlighted that adolescent boys and young men are often overlooked in mental health strategies, even as they face increasing risks of depression, violence exposure, and suicide. He explained that shifting norms around masculinity create both new pressures and new opportunities for connection, emphasizing that mental health systems must intentionally engage boys by creating environments where vulnerability is acceptable and support is accessible. Jennifer Uchendu presented climate change as a growing mental health determinant, explaining that anxiety is amplified when young people see governments delay action. She emphasized that youth must be involved in decision-making not as tokens but as partners with shared power who are compensated, trusted, and recognized for their lived expertise. The panel closed with optimism: meaningful youth engagement, cross-sector collaboration, and bold responses to structural issues can shift these megatrends from sources of despair toward fuel for empowerment and collective action. 

Watch recording

Multi-sector Responses for Better Youth Mental Health 

Speakers

• Dr. Alicia Barnes – Implementing wrap-around approaches for youth mental health, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
• Dr. John Damon – Scaling mental health services in Mississippi schools, Canopy Children’s Solutions
• Dr. Tamar Mendelson – School-based intervention for common mental health conditions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Dr. Sidney Hankerson – Faith-based collaborations and sports, Mt. Sinai Health System
• Dr. Kamillah Wood – Technology for youth mental health, Google
• Moderator: Dr. Rheanna Platt, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 

Summary

The panel “Multi-sector Responses for Better Youth Mental Health” showcased how community-level systems outside traditional healthcare can play a decisive role in supporting young people. Moderator Dr. Rheanna Platt framed the discussion around the need for collaboration across education, justice, faith, sports, housing, and technology—sectors that shape the everyday environments of youth. Dr. Alicia Barnes highlighted her work with wrap around approaches in Memphis that are family-driven and youth-guided, linking hospitals with schools, faith leaders, community health workers, and family navigators to address social needs and reduce the risk of young people “falling through the cracks.” Dr. John Damon described scaling mental health support in Mississippi schools by meeting districts where they are. Rather than leading with “mental health,” his team anchored programming in hope—a concept with strong evidence linking it to wellbeing—and built a model that screens students and families, addresses social determinants, and uses high-touch and high-tech tools to reach tens of thousands of youth.  

Speakers emphasized that schools, faith communities, and digital platforms are central access points for prevention. Dr. Tamar Mendelson shared evidence from a universal prevention school-based program that builds emotion regulation and coping skills for all students, not just those already in crisis—showing broad improvements in PTSD, depression, anxiety, and behavior in Baltimore schools. Dr. Sidney Hankerson highlighted the success of faith- and sports-based coalitions in Harlem, where trusted community institutions reduce stigma and promote connection among Black youth at risk of suicide, while also acknowledging the need to address religious trauma and make programming inclusive. Dr. Kamillah Wood discussed how technology companies like Google can democratize access to information and build responsible AI tools to expand workforce capacity in low-resource settings, while grounding innovation in lived experience and community partnership. Across the panel, speakers agreed that transforming youth mental health requires aligning sectors around a shared goal, learning each other’s language, and building trust so that services reach young people where they already are.

Helping Youth Thrive – Research and Practice 

Speakers

• Dr. Ellen Galinsky, Families and Work Institute
• Dr. Wizdom Powell, Unified Youth
• Prof. Atsushi Goto, Yokohama City University
• Dr. Manaswi Sangraula, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
• Moderator: Dr. Alex Ezeh, Commissioner, Drexel University 

Summary

The panel “Helping Youth Thrive” highlighted innovative approaches that center youth perspectives and community environments as core drivers of adolescent wellbeing in cities. Moderated by Dr. Alex Ezeh, the session emphasized that cities can be both amplifiers of risk and powerful platforms for change. Dr. Ellen Galinsky shared findings from a national civic science study co-designed with young people who reshaped how researchers asked questions about mental health. Early results show that adolescents prioritize social pressure, belonging, real-life skills, and navigating digital environments more than the diagnostic language adults often use. Her research also revealed that creative expression is a natural coping strategy for youth, offering emotional release and identity-building, especially when done in supportive environments where they feel respected and free from judgment.  

Building on this youth-centered framing, Dr. Wizdom Powell argued for a shift away from crisis-focused narratives toward systemic change that nurtures connection, agency, and creativity. She described the “Wonder Ecosystem” model being implemented through Unified Youth, which uses creative placemaking and cross-sector collaboration to build supportive environments where youth can thrive, rather than relying solely on clinical interventions. Adding an international perspective, Prof. Atsushi Goto presented Japan’s challenge of rising youth suicide and low life satisfaction and described the Yokohama Youth Cohort—an initiative using longitudinal research and city-level collaboration to define what a mental health-friendly city looks like for young people. Dr. Manaswi Sangraula demonstrated how global models like task-sharing are being adapted and adopted in New York City, where community-based organizations deliver mental health support through trusted relationships and activate public spaces to foster social connection. Together, the panel underscored that helping youth thrive requires listening to young people, strengthening community ecosystems, and adapting proven approaches across different cultural settings. 

Watch recording

Urban Community and Policy Solutions

Speakers

• Dr. Sarah C. Walker – Collective impact strategies for youth mental health, University of Washington
• Mr. Isaac Lara - Youth Advocate, Harvard University
• Dr. Ben Danielson – Ending youth incarceration and homelessness, University of Washington
• Moderator: Dr. Rebecca Fix, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Summary

The panel “Urban Community and Policy Solutions” explored how cities can improve adolescent mental health by treating it not just as a health issue, but as a fundamental element of the community that must be built, resourced, and maintained just like schools, parks, or transportation. Moderator Dr. Rebecca Fix opened the discussion by framing a shift away from deficit-focused interventions toward asset-based, community-driven partnerships. Dr. Sarah Walker described her work at a youth wellness policy think tank at the University of Washington, where research, advocacy, and urban design are integrated to make government policymaking more permeable to youth and community voices. She highlighted the concept of “Youth Wellness Zones” as place-based efforts that position youth wellbeing as a public resource—like water—that communities are collectively responsible for stewarding.  

Panelist Isaac Lara, a youth advocate from Harvard, emphasized the value of lived experience in shaping mental health services and policy. He described statewide efforts in California to build youth mental health drop-in centers near schools and community hubs, giving young people accessible “third spaces” for support—without stigma, appointments, or clinical barriers. Dr. Ben Danielson challenged traditional systems that punish and pathologize youth, especially those harmed by racism and structural violence. Sharing a story of high school students turning trauma from gun violence into a documentary project, he illustrated how youth can lead collective healing and teach adults about belonging, forgiveness, and complexity. Across the conversation, panelists agreed that ending harmful systems such as youth incarceration requires long-term thinking beyond political cycles; centering youth brilliance rather than their deficits; and building environments—across generations—where belonging is actively cultivated through community spaces, relationships, and shared power. 

Watch recording

Learning from and Financing Interventions on Youth Mental Health

Speakers

• Dr. Nicole Bardikoff, Grand Challenges Canada/Being Initiative
• Ms. Ellen Morgan, Templeton World Charities
• Dr. Aliza Lopez, Second Muse
• Dr. Tracy Johnson, Health Policy Solutions
• Moderator: Dr. Jennifer Requejo, Commissioner, World Bank Global Financing Facility / Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Summary

The panel “Learning from and Financing Interventions on Youth Mental Health” examined how funders and innovators are shifting the investment landscape to support scalable, youth-centered approaches. Moderator Dr. Jennifer Requejo framed the discussion around the gap identified in the Second Lancet Commission: despite the scale of adolescent mental health needs, financing remains extremely limited and fragmented. Dr. Nicole Bardikoff described how the Being Initiative is building a global pipeline of locally rooted solutions by funding early-stage innovations, investing in research capacity, and prioritizing youth- and community-led models across 14 countries. She emphasized that funders must embrace both “learning” and “doing”—testing promising ideas while building long-term systems that can sustain them. Ellen Morgan explained that Templeton World Charities targets the “science of mental wealth,” funding work on wellbeing, meaning, and purpose among young people, particularly through schools and creative approaches that reflect cultural values. 

Panelists underscored the need to change how investment decisions are made; not just how much money is available. Ms. Aliza Lopez spotlighted #FundTheYouth, an initiative designed to expand direct funding for youth-led mental health projects by removing traditional barriers that limit young people’s access. She emphasized that young leaders hold critical lived experience and innovative ideas yet are often excluded from funding systems not built with them in mind; #FundTheYouth aims to correct this by creating accessible, community-centered pathways for young people to bring solutions forward. Dr. Tracy Johnson added a policy lens, arguing that government funding streams are often rigid, risk-averse, and disconnected from what youth actually need. She highlighted the importance of costed implementation plans, strong evidence on impact, and coordination across ministries so that investments are durable beyond single grant cycles. Across the conversation, speakers agreed that financing systems must become more equitable, flexible, and grounded in youth participation, moving from short-term projects to sustained investment in young people’s wellbeing infrastructure.

Watch recording

Moving the agenda forward: Improving data quality, indicators, and accountability

Speakers

• Dr. Joe Ward, Commissioner
• Dr. Prerna Banati, Commissioner, World Health Organization
• Dr. Jennifer Requejo, Commissioner, Countdown 2030
• Dr. Joanna Lai, UNICEF
• Dr. Anna Zecharia, International Alliance of Mental Health Research Funders
• Dr. Tracy Johnson, Health Policy Solutions
• Moderator: Dr. Judy Bass, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Summary

The panel focused on the critical challenge of building robust data systems to track and improve adolescent mental health outcomes globally. Moderator Dr. Judy Bass opened by highlighting the momentum generated over the two-day convening: a stronger understanding of adolescent stressors, the importance of youth participation in every stage of intervention, and the need to expand mental health services beyond health facilities into schools, communities, arts, sports, workplaces, and digital environments. With that shift, she noted, comes an urgent need for better indicators and data systems that can measure progress, communicate findings to policymakers, and ensure accountability. The discussion emphasized that current measurement systems struggle with cultural differences in how youth define wellbeing, rapidly evolving priorities, and limited data tools that often capture symptoms but not positive wellbeing outcomes such as hope, creativity, and social connectedness.  

Commissioners and global leaders shared perspectives on how to close these gaps. The panel traced two complementary indicator efforts: the Lancet Commission framework, which builds on the 2016 indicators using available global datasets to compare progress across countries, and the WHO’s GAMA process, which pushes toward more aspirational and country-relevant indicators rooted in primary data collection. Speakers argued that measurement must serve different levels of decision-making—from concise global indicators for tracking trends, to national-level data for planning, and local data for program improvement. UNICEF, WHO, and partners are working toward harmonized tools that enable cross-country comparison while still reflecting young people’s lived experiences. Across interventions, the panel’s message was consistent: to meet the scale of adolescent needs, the global community must move from measuring what is easy to measure toward measuring what matters to youth, anchoring systems in their voices and using data to drive real policy action—not just reporting. 

Watch recording

Making Adolescent Mental Health a Priority: Moving the agenda forward  

Speaker

• Dr. Yusra Shawar – Factors that shape prioritization of mental health, Commissioner, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Summary 

In this closing session, Dr. Yusra Shawar examined why adolescent mental health has not yet secured the political priority it deserves and what it will take to elevate it on global and national agendas. Drawing from her research on the political economy of health policy, she explained that political priority is not driven by evidence alone—despite abundant data on the severity of youth mental health challenges. Instead, priority emerges when compelling evidence is paired with effective political strategy. Shawar highlighted three conditions that shape prioritization: whether an issue is perceived as solvable with clear interventions, whether policy windows and global moments make action timely, and how well networks of advocates organize, frame their demands, and build broad coalitions beyond their usual allies. She noted that adolescent health struggles on all three fronts, competing in a crowded global agenda while lacking unified definitions, messages, and governance structures.  

Shawar identified four internal challenges that limit political traction: fragmented problem definition (no shared understanding of who counts as an “adolescent” or what the agenda covers), competing frames (economic returns versus rights and dignity), weak governance (no clear institutional home), and limited coalition-building beyond those already working in the field. These tensions, combined with the complexity of adolescent needs across multiple sectors, make the agenda harder to champion. Yet she also emphasized opportunities—momentum from COVID-19, new measurement efforts like GAMA, growing youth visibility through digital platforms, and increasing recognition that adolescents are powerful agents in their own wellbeing. Shawar closed by posing strategic questions rather than prescribing solutions: Should advocates narrow their focus to specific age groups or conditions to increase political clarity? How can they balance rights-based and investment arguments? And who should be accountable for leading the agenda? Her call to action was clear: advancing adolescent mental health requires political organizing as intentional as the scientific work that underpins it. 

Watch recording