Global survey findings help shape priorities for the 3rd Nordic MHPSS Conference
What are the most urgent priorities for the mental health and psychosocial support sector? Where are the needs greatest? And what are some of the most promising actions and interventions?
These were some of the questions we asked 96 stakeholders from around the world to help us plan for the digital pre-conference event begin shaping recommendations for the Oslo Open Pledge 2026 at the 3rd Nordic Conference on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.
The conference, which takes place in Oslo on 3–4 June 2026, will bring together Nordic and global actors working to strengthen mental health and psychosocial wellbeing before, during and after emergencies. The Oslo Open Pledge 2026 will serve as a key outcome document from the conference, setting out recommendations for Nordic actors on how to strengthen MHPSS before, during and after emergencies.
To ground the conversation in sector-wide input, the Open Pledge Working Group circulated a global survey, coordinated by the MHPSS Collaborative and UNICEF Office of Innovation, ahead of the pre-conference event. The survey received responses from 96 stakeholders, including international and local NGOs, research institutions, donors, practitioners, UN agencies, and youth-led organisations.
Four thematic areas
The survey explored four thematic areas: general sector priorities, innovation, climate and nature, and children and education. Across these streams, several cross-cutting priorities emerged: sustained funding, localisation, caregiver support, cross-sector collaboration, and meaningful child and youth participation.
A clear message from respondents was that the MHPSS landscape has become more demanding since the 2024 Malmö Conference. The most frequently cited shifts were increased conflict and displacement, escalating demand for MHPSS services, and reductions in government budgets alongside less predictable funding. Respondents also highlighted the growing mental health impacts of climate crises and increased political attention to MHPSS.
When asked what feels most urgent, respondents identified collective advocacy for stable, long-term funding as the top priority, followed by the need to expand services to meet rising demand and to support and protect frontline staff. Lack of funding and funding uncertainty were also identified as the main barriers to expanding MHPSS, alongside insufficient trained workforce capacity and limited political will and leadership.
Priorities and needs
The survey also pointed to where MHPSS needs are greatest today. Ongoing and protracted crises were highlighted as the most under-resourced contexts, with respondents noting that long-running crises often lose visibility and donor attention as newer emergencies emerge. Group-based psychosocial support was identified as one of the approaches most ready to scale over the next two to three years, provided that sustainable funding is available.
For the Oslo Open Pledge 2026, respondents ranked localisation and shifting power to local actors, including youth participation and leadership, as the top priority. This was followed by scaling pathways and system integration, and climate-responsive MHPSS. Respondents called on Nordic actors to commit to sustainable, flexible, multi-year pooled funding; shift resources directly to local and community-based organisations; use Nordic diplomatic capital to champion MHPSS in international fora; and embed MHPSS into national health, education, and social protection systems.
Climate & nature
On climate and nature, respondents identified livelihood stress and displacement-related grief as among the fastest-growing climate-related mental health challenges. The most promising responses included livelihood-plus-psychosocial models, disaster preparedness integrated with MHPSS, nature-based approaches, and the integration of indigenous knowledge. School-based disaster risk reduction was seen as particularly scalable because it can be integrated into existing education systems while strengthening both preparedness and psychosocial resilience.
Children & education
On children and education, respondents highlighted protection risks, including violence against children and child recruitment, as the greatest threat to children’s mental health, followed by caregiver stress and the loss of safe spaces. Social and Emotional Learning, parenting and caregiver support, early childhood development, and play-based healing were identified as high-impact and scalable interventions. Respondents also emphasised that caregiver wellbeing should be treated as foundational to child mental health, and that children and young people must be engaged as meaningful co-designers rather than consulted in tokenistic ways.
Innovation
The thematic findings added further depth to these priorities. On innovation, respondents saw the greatest transformation potential in community co-design models, innovative implementation strategies, and digital delivery platforms, while identifying funding risk aversion, workforce constraints, infrastructure gaps, and institutional resistance as key barriers to scale. Task-shifting and mhGAP-based models, community-based peer support, digital and remote service delivery, and education-based programmes were highlighted as examples of innovation moving from pilot to scale.
The survey findings briefing and presentation are available on this page and will inform the continued consultation process ahead of the 3rd Nordic MHPSS Conference in Oslo.
