Mental health plays a central role in people’s lives and is intrinsically tied to many other aspects of people’s wider well-being. This was underscored during the COVID-19 pandemic, when direct health impacts and loss of lives combined with social isolation, loss of work and financial insecurity all contributed to a significant worsening of people’s mental health. Data from 15 OECD countries suggest that by late 2020, over one-quarter of people experienced symptoms of depression or anxiety. Already, well before the pandemic hit, it was estimated that half of the population will experience a mental health condition at least once in their lifetime and the economic costs of mental ill-health amounted to more than 4% of GDP annually. Good mental health, on the other hand, can boost people’s resilience to stress, help them realise their goals and actively contribute to their communities. Positive mental health, or having high levels of emotional and psychological well-being, is also increasingly being recognised as policy target in its own right by health and other government agencies across the OECD.