Mental health? Call it mental fitness, says Harry

The Duke of Sussex has called on international governments to listen to the problems faced by young people before making policy decisions.

Prince Harry says mental health ‘affects every single one of us’. Picture: AFP

The Duke of Sussex has said that the phrase “mental health” should be replaced with the term “mental fitness” to address an issue that “affects every one of us”.

Harry, attending a summit for the Diana Award, the charity established 25 years ago in honour of his late mother, called on international governments to listen to the problems faced by young people before making policy decisions.

“Surely one of the solutions here is for governments to implement, or at least find people, young people like yourselves, and bring them into decision making, policy-making situations before the problems exist,” he told the audience at the Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan.

“That is where the difference is going to be made. And why is that not happening?”

Harry joined the charity’s chief executive Dr Tessy Ojo and two winners of the award, Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang, 18, from Indonesia, and Christina Williams, 27, from Jamaica.

Ojo said: “I’m very grateful to have the Duke of Sussex with us. He is a passionate advocate for mental health.

“He actually said to me as we came in that actually we should no longer talk about mental health but we should talk about mental fitness.

“His dedication to this cause strengthens our mission.”

During a discussion, Williams said: “Scared children cannot dream, Prince Harry.”

Harry agreed, saying that mental health “affects every single one of us, from the top to bottom, from the youngest to the oldest.”

He added: “I know that my mum would be incredibly proud of you guys, not just you, but all of the winners, and, Tessy – you’ve been in this for a very long time so thank you for that as well.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2021. Picture: AFP

“But the way that you do it, your activism, your compassion, those two things are so true to how my mum led her life and what she believed in. And the way that you do it is incredible. So, thank you.”

Harry is in New York for the UN General Assembly High-level Week where he will attend several events which reflect his often-expressed ambition to protect his late mother’s legacy.

Today, he will join Bill Clinton to discuss solutions to global challenges, including climate change.

In the session called at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting, Harry will appear with the former president, his daughter Chelsea Clinton, the WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Katie Couric, an American broadcaster, and Jane Goodall, the conservationist and primatologist.

The Duke will be in London next Monday for the annual Wellchild charity awards.

The Times