Last week, the South African Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH) Programmes Team attended the much-anticipated 2nd South African Mental Health Conference, held on 28–29 October 2025 in Johannesburg.
Rounding off World Mental Health Month 2025, the conference brought together academics, researchers, advocates and clinicians who all made a clear commitment to transform evidence into action.
The Second Mental Health Conference in South Africa was a powerful gathering of diverse voices advocating for inclusive, community-based care. It was encouraging to see strong support for expanding services to reach the broader population beyond primary health care.” – Bharti Patel, SAFMH National Executive Director
Shayni Geffen, SAFMH Advocacy Lead, delivered an insightful presentation about the National Advocacy Youth Forum. She explored the lessons learned so far in meaningfully including youth voices in advocacy and shaping the national mental health conversation.
What a wonderful 2 days of reconnecting with colleagues and meeting new ones. There is so much thoughtful and impactful work underway to improve mental health outcomes in South Africa – from services, approaches to systems change. The need to strengthen community based mental health services was discussed widely. I feel re-energised and grateful to be a part of a field where relevant, rights-based and evidence-based action is at the forefront.” – Shayni Geffen, SAFMH Advocacy Lead
A highlight was seeing one of our Youth Forum members, Nhlalala Baloyi, take to the stage during the plenary and sharing his story. Nhlalala spoke passionately about how his lived experience inspired his advocacy journey. You can read Nhlalala’s speech in full here.
The conference provided some incredible insights into what is happening on the ground right now. There were also key issues highlighted, noting that for any real change to happen, we need key decision-makers to be present and ready to engage.
The FPD conference offered insights into a range of interesting, innovative, and engaging topics, illustrating a widespread and ongoing commitment to mental health, especially from an academic and research perspective. The Minister of Health and National Department of Health’s absence was however, noted, raising questions about how evidence is going to lead to action when key decision-makers are not part of such vital conversations”. – Leon de Beer, SAFMH Deputy Director
Overall, the sessions throughout the two-day conference highlighted the growing recognition that mental health cannot be addressed in isolation, along with a clear call to action to ensure accessible and equitable mental health care for all.
