Resistant insistent persistent: A global call by mental health nursing leaders

In recent years, the global mental health landscape has shifteddramatically. Rising rates of mental illness and distress, com-pounded by geopolitical instability, climate-related trauma andsystemic inequities, have placed unprecedented pressure on men-tal health systems worldwide (World Health Organization 2022,2025). Amid this crisis, mental health nurses—who comprisenearly half of the global mental health workforce—remainunder-recognised, under-resourced and under-represented inglobal and national leadership and policymaking (World HealthOrganization 2025; Jackson et al. 2025). The November 2025 Mental Health Nursing Leaders' Summit in Barcelona, Spain,marks a pivotal moment to reclaim visibility, assert disciplinaryself-determination and chart a transformative path forward.