The Muslim Council of Britain is hosting a groundbreaking National Mental Health Summit on Saturday 18th July alongside its Annual General Meeting at the University of East London, with more than 400 participants bringing together British Muslim organisations, mental health professionals and policy makers, as well as front line mental health community organisations from across the country to address key solutions on mental health faced by British Muslims in the UK.
The conference will focus on practical solutions we can build together, including workshops on neurodiversity, funding support for Muslim mental health service providers such as the Muslim Youth Helpline, technology and policy solutions needed to bridge the gaps in how British Muslims access mental health support and collaboration across providers. Key sponsors of the event include Aghosh UK, Ethaar Relief, Lady Fatemah Trust and Movember. It also marks the launch of the first ever one stop online hub Directory dedicated to signposting to key mental health providers and services relevant to British Muslims.
Mental health is no longer a specialist issue – it affects every area of community life from mosques, to charities, schools, youth organisations and community leaders who are increasingly responding to complex wellbeing challenges, often without sufficient support, funding resources or opportunities for collaboration.
Dr Wajid Akhter, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain says: “The scale of the mental health crisis facing British Muslims has outgrown the scale of our response. For too long we have relied on goodwill, small grants, and a handful of overstretched organisations doing extraordinary work with insufficient resources. That era has to end. It is time for the Muslim community to level up with funding that matches the need, not just the appetite; with genuine collaboration between mosques, charities, clinicians, and technologists instead of parallel efforts that never meet. This must go hand in hand with policies that treat Muslim mental health as a mainstream public health priority, not a niche concern. We cannot keep matching a national scale crisis with a project sized response.”
Dr Sarah Hughes, CEO of Mind mental health charity says: “It is an honour for me to attend and speak at the National Muslim Mental Health Summit. The Muslim community is remarkably resilient, and despite the external challenges it faces, it has once again taken the reins of the mental health crisis head-on. However, as politics moves further to the right, Muslims are often unfairly targeted and blamed for society’s problems. We are very aware that racism contributes to poor mental health and also limits access to timely, appropriate care. This creates a damaging cycle that worsens outcomes and deepens inequalities. The UK Government’s upcoming mental health strategy must include a specific focus on those who for whatever reason are harder to engage with.”
Together we can make changes to ensure we have a coordinated mental health strategy, a consolidated fund dedicated to supporting Muslim mental health service providers, and direct support for communities. The Muslim Council of Britain is launching a dedicated Muslim Mental Health Hub online as part of the Summit, for the community to engage with various issues related to mental health and normalise the conversations around mental health which is often a stigma and taboo subject in our communities.
Notes to Editors
Key Findings on British Muslims & Mental Health Access
- There are 4 million Muslims in the UK, forming 6% of the population.
- Just 2.6% of Muslims referred to NHS Talking Therapies in 2021–22 completed treatment.
- 40% of UK Muslims live in the most deprived local authorities in England.
- 1 in 4 Muslim households live in overcrowded homes, compared with 1 in 15 across the overall population.
- A survey carried out by the Muslim Youth Helpline of over 1,000 British Muslims aged 16-30 found that only 13% of respondents with mental health needs saw a counsellor.
To view the full programme and speaker line-up, please visit: https://mcbconference.org/
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