Across the world, mental health systems are overburdened and under-resourced, and on-going crises such as COVID-19 are making the situation worse. To address this ‘silent pandemic,’ there must be a radical rethink of how we deliver care for those suffering. Disruptive technologies and innovative, digital-first models of treatment hold great promise for making care more accessible and affordable, yet without careful consideration of their governance, their potential may not be realized.

To ensure these tools are deployed ethically and effectively, the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Deloitte produced the Global Governance Toolkit for Digital Mental Health in 2021 following two years of consultations and pilots at the national level. In such a nascent, rapidly changing field, it is imperative the governance remains agile and responsive to new findings and innovations. This white paper seeks to revisit the space and understand what has changed, what has been learned, and what is still to be done to build a regulatory environment where disruptive technologies can enable people everywhere to achieve the mental wellbeing they seek.