Mental‑health reform and youth access

Portugal is undergoing a major restructuring of its mental‑health system, driven by the National Coordination for Mental‑Health Policies (Coordenação Nacional das Políticas de Saúde Mental, CNPSM). The 2024–2026 reform focuses on shifting care from hospital‑centred models to community‑based provision, strengthening Community Mental‑Health Teams, and improving integration between primary care, social services and child‑adolescent psychiatry. Key changes include restructuring governance, expanding workforce capacity and improving coordination between regional mental‑health bodies. 

Recent developments also include the rapid expansion of local mental‑health clinics and digital‑therapy platforms, reducing waiting times and increasing early access for young people. New digital cognitive‑behavioural apps — such as “MenteLivre”, already adopted by the National Health Service (Serviço Nacional de Saúde, SNS) — now provide daily triage and referral functions, supported by strengthened data‑protection oversight. 

The Portuguese Psychologists’ Association (Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses) continues to advocate for reinforcing school‑based mental‑health professionals, expanding primary‑care psychological services, and creating a national observatory for adolescent wellbeing, reflecting ongoing public debate on unmet youth needs. 

Youth health and wellbeing reforms (2024–2026)

The Government’s youth agenda includes significant investment in health services directed at 12‑ to 30‑year‑olds, particularly through the expansion of the Cuida‑te+ Programme (Programa Cuida‑te+) under the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude, IPDJ). Reforms adopted in 2024 and 2025 broadened the programme’s age coverage, increased funding and added new professional teams dedicated to mental health, nutrition and wellbeing. 

New measures also introduced psychology vouchers and nutrition vouchers for higher‑education students, enabling free access to mental‑health and dietary counselling. These reforms respond directly to rising mental‑health demand across youth populations and constitute one of the most debated youth‑wellbeing policies in recent years. 

Health literacy and prevention

Debate continues on how best to strengthen national health‑literacy levels. The Health Literacy Action Plan (Plano de Ação para a Literacia em Saúde, PALS) remains an important reference, with updated assessments published in 2022–2024. The Directorate‑General of Health (Direção‑Geral da Saúde, DGS) emphasises improving health‑system navigation skills among adolescents, expanding digital‑literacy initiatives and supporting professionals’ training in youth‑friendly communication. 

Schools and municipalities are increasingly involved in prevention initiatives, reflecting new expectations for intersectoral collaboration in promoting healthy lifestyles, violence prevention and mental‑health literacy.

Physical activity and youth wellbeing

Reforms linked to the National Sports Development Plan (Plano Nacional de Desenvolvimento Desportivo, PNDD) — presented in 2025 — place physical activity at the centre of youth‑health promotion. The plan seeks to reduce childhood obesity, increase daily physical‑activity levels, and strengthen inclusion through sport. Measures include the expansion of training programmes for early‑years educators, annual physical‑fitness assessments, and incentives for sports participation among girls and young women. 

These reforms align with broader Government priorities to modernise sports infrastructure, support local clubs and extend community‑based sport programmes overseen by IPDJ. 

Emerging themes in national debate

Across public debate and expert forums, several themes dominate adolescent‑health discussions:

• Equity in access, especially between urban and rural areas, given uneven availability of paediatric psychiatry, psychological counselling and sexual‑health services.
• Digital transformation, including the ethical use of AI‑based triage tools and the need for regulatory oversight in youth‑health apps.
• Workforce shortages, particularly in child‑adolescent mental health and primary‑care psychology, despite accelerated training and recruitment measures.
• Integration across sectors, emphasising school‑health collaboration, municipal youth policies and community‑based prevention.

These debates reflect a broader shift towards multi‑sector youth‑wellbeing governance consistent with EU and WHO frameworks.