Webinar Report:

Welcome and Opening Remarks

The webinar commenced with Andrew Spiegel, Chair of the World Patients Alliance, extending a warm welcome to participants from across the globe. Acknowledging World Family Doctor Day, he expressed deep gratitude toward family doctors for their dedication.

He also shared WPA’s enthusiasm about the collaboration with WONCA, emphasizing that both organizations recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This partnership marks a significant step toward integrating patient voices into family medicine on a global scale and will support future joint initiatives on policy, education, and advocacy.

Andrew highlighted the significance of mental health as a shared global concern that affects individuals, families, and communities. Participants were also informed about the AI-powered real-time translation feature available in 50+ languages to support global inclusivity

Professor Amanda Howe, Co-Chair, WONCA Special Interest Group on Policy Advocacy

Amanda opened the discussion by acknowledging World Family Doctor Day 2025 and its global theme, “Building Mental Resilience in a Changing World.” She thanked all family doctors for their service and underlined how this year’s theme resonates strongly with current mental health challenges. Drawing on her clinical experience and WHO priorities, she emphasized the universal nature of mental health struggles. Many individuals and families face emotional distress, often compounded by stigma, lack of language for mental health concepts, and inadequate systems for care. Amanda underscored the urgency of cross-sector collaboration to close these gaps.

Key insights included:

• Mental health problems affect nearly 1 in 3 people over a lifetime.
• Cultural stigma, insufficient training, and system-level gaps lead to delayed or missed diagnoses.
• Effective mental health support requires well-trained primary care teams and trusted doctor-patient relationships.
• The WHO’s comprehensive primary healthcare vision includes mental health as a core component.

Patient and Community Perspectives: Voices for Change

Fatima Seedat, Development Manager, South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG)
Member, WPA African Regional Steering Committee
Fatima brought a community-level view to the conversation. She stressed the emotional toll of mental illness and the difficulties many patients face in articulating symptoms, especially in languages lacking equivalent terms for conditions like anxiety or depression. She emphasized that family doctors are often the first and sometimes only point of contact for mental health support.

Highlights included:

• Case study: “Thabo" from a rural South African township accessed care through his family doctor, who collaborated with SADAG to ensure counselling and medication.
• The need for empathy, active listening, and culturally relevant communication.
• Doctors can support recovery by referring patients to local NGOs, using screening tools, and scheduling follow-ups.
• Empowering patients through mental health education helps reduce stigma and encourage help-seeking behavior.

Lessons from the WONCA MDD Minds Project

Dr. Sankha Randenikumara, Co-Chair, WONCA Special Interest Group on Policy Advocacy
Dr. Sankha presented key findings from the WONCA-led MDD Minds project, which trained nearly 3,000 primary care providers across 9 countries on screening, diagnosing, and managing major depressive disorders (MDD).

Project outcomes:

• Emphasis on patient-centered, non-drug interventions such as mindfulness and breathing exercises.
• Structured screening tools like PHQ-9 improved diagnosis and patient engagement.
• Patients felt more understood, supported, and less judged.
• Family involvement and empathetic communication strengthened trust and continuity in care.

Dr. Sankha also shared that the MDD Minds training modules are now publicly available online for wider adoption, and future efforts will focus on integrating these approaches into national health systems.

Panel Discussion and Reflections

Panellists: Sankha Randenikumara, Andrew Spiegel, Fatima Seedat Moderated by Amanda Howe, the panel discussion addressed:

The panel discussion opened with a focus on how mental health services can be made more accessible, especially in communities where specialized care is limited or unaffordable. Amanda Howe emphasized the need for a broader support structure that extends beyond the clinic — highlighting the role of community health workers, local NGOs, Patient Advocates, and non-clinical interventions in helping patients navigate mental health challenges in culturally relevant ways.
Fatima Seedat shared practical insights from South Africa, where partnerships between family doctors and mental health organizations like SADAG are vital. She described how family doctors can refer patients to 24-hour helplines or community counselling projects when in-person mental health services are unavailable. These collaborations often begin informally but grow into stable referral networks that improve long-term patient outcomes.

Dr. Sankha Randenikumara pointed to the evidence emerging from the MDD Minds project. He described how patient acceptance and follow-up improved when doctors were trained to use simple tools like PHQ-9 and provided non-judgmental spaces for patients to open up. He also noted that family involvement—when encouraged—made a meaningful difference in sustaining care and breaking the cycle of isolation.

Andrew Spiegel, representing the patient voice, encouraged providers to stay grounded in the lived experiences of those they serve. He reminded the audience that patients often deal with overlapping layers of social, financial, and emotional strain, and that even small gestures of empathy can restore trust.

Each panellist underscored that real progress depends not only on professional training but on culture shift—normalizing open conversations around mental health within both healthcare settings and communities.

Closing Reflections

As the webinar ended, each panellist offered a short but powerful reflection on what needs to change — and what already is.

Amanda Howe called for systemic change that makes mental health support routine, not optional, in family practice. She emphasized that while technical training is important, real transformation starts when providers actively listen and communicate with compassion.

Fatima Seedat stressed the role of education and literacy, both for providers and patients. She encouraged doctors to think creatively about how to raise awareness in waiting rooms, through support groups, or via culturally tailored handouts and conversations.

Dr. Sankha Randenikumara pointed to the growing availability of open-access mental health modules as a chance to keep momentum going. He reiterated that structured, non-drug approaches often outperform medication alone when trust and communication are prioritized.

Andrew Spiegel closed the session by reinforcing the value of patient engagement in shaping policies and programs. He reminded participants that sustainable solutions arise when systems are built with patients, not just for them.

The event ended with a collective commitment to advancing collaborative, practical, and inclusive mental health strategies — rooted in primary care and driven by shared responsibility.

Both the World Patients Alliance and WONCA reaffirmed their shared vision and expressed intent to continue working together through this new partnership, building on the momentum of this webinar. The MoU signed between the two organizations sets a foundation for sustained, productive, and progressive collaboration in mental health advocacy and beyond.