Ren Minghui is the assistant director-general for universal health coverage/communicable and noncommunicable diseases at the World Health Organization. In this role, he oversees a complex portfolio of technical programs covering HIV, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, sexually transmitted infections, NCDs, mental health and substance use. He currently represents the WHO on the boards of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, as well as UNAIDS, and UNITAID.

Shannon Hader is currently the deputy executive director of programs at UNAIDS and assistant secretary-general of the United Nations. She’s trained in pediatrics, internal medicine, and infectious diseases. She has more than 20 years of international experience in global health and has worked in a variety of roles in the HIV fight across the world. She has a strong focus on delivering results for people, promoting investments in community-led responses, and driving innovation and change.

Lack of mental health and psychosocial support for people living with, or at risk of, HIV and tuberculosis, poses huge barriers to their health and well-being, as well as ending these epidemics.

This week, the board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria meets to discuss the fund’s strategy for the years to come. This is a unique opportunity to ensure that mental health — a missing piece in current strategies — becomes an integral part of the global responses to HIV and TB — from prevention, to testing, to treatment and care, and addressing stigma related to mental health, HIV, and TB.

On Oct. 10, World Mental Health Day, the Global Fund’s Executive Director Peter Sands stressed that mental health is inextricably linked with the fight against infectious diseases and indispensable to the fight against HIV, TB, and malaria. Read more via Devex