Gede has lent its voice to mhNOW (http://www.mhnow.net/) whose formation was recently announced at the World Bank/WHO mental health meetings in Washington DC. mhNOW is the brainchild of Chris Underhill (Founder of BasicNeeds) and Moltreyee Sinha (based at the Global Development Incubator) and seeks to make a genuine difference to people living with mental illness through –

VISION
All people have access to mental health support, are accepted in their communities, and are able to live fulfilling lives
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MISSION
mhNow mobilizes community leaders across sectors to scale up holistic and effective approaches for mental health
Our goal is to create and employ tools on a global level that can be adopted and replicated by local city leaders so that they are able to bring best practices in mental health to their own communities.
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GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• Evidence-based solutions to dramatically improve mental health already exist but require proactive promotion
• Community leadership can be mobilized to create the link between vulnerable population and mental health support networks
• Action happens at local level
• Cross-sectoral approaches that integrate economic, socio-cultural and human elements to address root causes and build healthy communities
• Entrepreneurs are the engines for impact and can lead to large-scale sustainable change when connected and supported by the public and private sectors

Gede is delighted to be part of this forward thinking and innovative organisation and is especially excited about the prospect of engaging leaders across the spectrum in order to leverage their capacities for the benefit of those living with mental illness in Nigeria