Dear friends around the world,
Hello and welcome to my May update.
May is special, being the Mental Health Awareness Month and many of our colleagues around the world are taking this opportunity to discuss women’s mental health including maternal mental health. As we look around the globe and become more attuned to the challenges faced by women and girls, we recognize that the only way forward is to learn from each other and support each other. This can only be achieved though collaborations and alliances across the globe, across various disciplines and with active involvement of persons with lived experience.
The 10th World Congress of Women’s Mental Health at Bangalore in March 2025 is going to give us a great opportunity for networking, mutual learning and enabling collaborations. I am delighted that there is already a huge buzz around the Congress and we hope that there will be something valuable for everybody who attends.
The website is up, the call for abstracts is out and we have for the first time invited not just scientific abstracts but also those that describe services as well as professional issues.
An active scientific advisory committee has advised us to ensure three important issues in the conference which we will strive to achieve:
1. Focus on holistic aspects of women’s mental health (biological, social, cultural, environmental, developmental and interpersonal).
2. Pay attention to participants at different points of their career journeys and ensure global representation. Also to have a platform for participants to share information on new initiatives and services.
3. Ensure adequate time between and after scientific sessions for networking and conversations – this was the most unanimous advice!
Please Submit Abstracts at https://www.iawmh2025.org/ and become members of IAWMH to take advantage of the reduced registration rates and have access to several courses.
We hope to see you all in Bangalore in the spring of 2025!
With my best regards,
Prabha S. Chandra MD, FRCPE, FRCPsych, FAMS
IAWMH President
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“Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.” Kofi Annan