The TAS conference calls on BRICS countries to join hands in the fight against mental health stigma

The panelists emphasized “Nothing about us without us” and said that young people and people with lived experience must play a meaningful role in developing mental health and anti-discrimination policies. | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The 11th Together Against Stigma (TAS) conference, organized by the George Institute for Global Health in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS Delhi and UNICEF, called for closer collaboration among BRICS countries to combat stigma and discrimination in the field of mental health, with a focus on improving access to inclusive mental health care for children, adolescents and young people.

The conference, which ends on Saturday (November 13, 2026), has representatives from India, Brazil, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Malaysia. They identified youth participation, school-based interventions, community mental health care and evidence-based policy reforms as key priorities.

Brazilian model

The panelists emphasized “Nothing about us without us” and said that young people and people with lived experience must play a meaningful role in developing mental health and anti-discrimination policies. Schools, they noted, could serve as critical points for early identification and intervention. The Brazilian experience of training teachers to recognize psychological distress and connect students to public health services was highlighted as a model.

NIMHANS Director YC Janardhan Reddy highlighted the role of the National Digital Academy in building India’s mental health workforce. With 38 accredited courses and 72 programs, the academy has trained nearly 50,000 professionals across the country, he said.

The conference also highlighted findings from the ARTEMIS (Adolescent’s Resilience and Treatment needs for Mental Health in Indian Slums) study and the SATHI study among tribal communities in India. Both have demonstrated the potential of locally tailored anti-stigma campaigns to improve access to people with mental illness. The interventions have also helped reduce depression and anxiety among adolescents, said YK Sandhya, head of the mental health program at the institute.

The BRICS Network of Training Centers and the Network of Centers of Excellence have been identified as platforms for sharing research, expertise and effective interventions.

The conference is being held at AIIMS, New Delhi from November 12-14 and is the first edition to be held in a Global South country.

Published – 13 Nov 2026 23:09 IST