Jointly organised by GAMIAN-Europe, the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), the European Brain Council (EBC), EUFAMI, the Expert Platform on Depression, Eurocarers, the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the UEMS – Section of Psychiatry and the International Federation for Psychotherapy

The meeting of the European Parliament Interest Group on Mental Health, Wellbeing and Brain Disorders, entitled ‘A sustainable approach to depression: moving from words to actions’ took place on 5 December in the European Parliament in Brussels, between 12.30 and 14.00 in room A5F 385.

Today, over 35 million people are estimated to be living with depression in Europe Its cost is 30% higher than that of stroke. Yet as a society, we lack understanding of depression and empathy for those affected. Policies focused on depression exist, but implementation is variable and suffers from significant under-resourcing. This in turn contributes to significant gaps in diagnosis and care: only 25% of people diagnosed with depression receive appropriate and timely care.

These gaps need to be remedied – and require a comprehensive, sustainable policy response, looking at how to prevent and manage depression across all aspects of society.

The organisations listed above joined forces to address this need; they agreed to produce a report aimed at providing policymakers with concrete ways to better address the full spectrum of depression and its impact on our societies. The report drew from the practical experiences of a variety of innovative projects addressing different aspect of depression across the EU. Key factors and lessons learnt were identified which can help policymakers develop and put in place concrete, relevant and sustainable policies and initiatives.

The December event aimed to:

• Present the key findings of this report;
• Showcase examples of successful projects addressing depression;
• Exchange views on how depression can be prioritised on the EU and national policy agendas;
• Forge links between relevant stakeholders and explore ideas for future cooperation to ensure better management of depression.

Given the above and your interest in issues related to mental health, we thank all who joined us on 5 December.