Our CEO Attended ‘The Global Mental Health in Asia 2025 Symposium’ in Singapore

🌟 Recap of #GMHAsia2025 on 17-19 February in Singapore by Amornthep Sachamuneewongse (Sati’s Founder & CEO) 🌟

The Global Mental Health in Asia 2025 Symposium has been an amazing experience. It brought together many other experts in the field to discuss the urgent need for increased investment in mental health.

The current state of ASEAN’s mental health is fragile. We are not only affected by the stigma around mental health within the region but also by the gap in the ability to access and afford care, rapidly changing social dynamics, geopolitics, and the emerging threat of climate change. In ASEAN, over 250 Million people are living with mental health problems. We are moving from being resilient to being tolerant. Thus making us reactive to change.

Our mental health is essential, yet less than 2% of the health budget is invested in this sector. Moreover, 75% of mental health challenges emerge before the age of 24, but we are currently investing less than 0.1% of total health aid into assistance that targets youth.

The symposium reiterated the importance of a stronger foundation for proactive intervention, which means increasing investment in communities and delegating specific tasks, such as peer support, to them. Do not leave counselling skill sets only in the treatment room. Psychosocial intervention that involves the community has better long-term outcomes.

Lastly, our policy must be grounded in reality and must not deny or delay the implementation of vital policies that address the issue.

The past three days have been an incredible experience of learning, sharing, supporting, and building connections.

“Our collective healing happens in an ecosystem of care”

Thank you, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, for inviting us to be part of the Symposium and giving me the opportunity to share about the work that Sati is doing in Thailand. 🩵