Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has urged the government to improve access to community-based mental health services.
In a statement to mark this year’s World Mental Health Day, KNCHR Chairperson Roseline Odede said the government should respond to the needy and most vulnerable groups at the grassroots.
Odede named the groups as persons with disabilities, older persons, intersex, victims of sexual gender-based violence and victims of other crimes.
“Access to quality and affordable mental health service is a universal human right,” Odede stated.
She cautioned stakeholders that human rights violations have a huge impact on the mental health of people.
“For instance, discrimination, poverty, limited access to social protection interventions and lack of quality health services exacerbates social and economic barriers leading to among others stress and anxiety,” she added.
Odede advocated for speedy integration, collection and reporting of mental health indicators through the District Health Information Software to inform mental health service delivery in the country.
“This will effectively bridge the current data and information gap on mental health conditions experienced in Kenya,” she noted.
She observed that World Health Organisation data shows there has been a 13 per cent increase in mental health conditions and substance use disorders in the last 10 years.
Odede added that World Mental Health Day calls upon those leadership positions to continue raising awareness and implementing interventions that prioritise, promote and protect every person’s mental health as a universal human right.
World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10 every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health.
The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
The subject of World Mental Health Day in 2023 is “Mental health is a universal human right,” which serves as a reminder to everyone on the planet to raise awareness, advance understanding, and encourage action that will protect and advance everyone’s right to mental health.
By recognising them and their challenges, Mental Health Days may empower those who are dealing with mental health issues.
In 1992, at the World Federation for Mental Health Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, the concept of observing a day to raise awareness of mental health issues was first put out.
On October 10, 1992, the first-ever mental health day was observed after the approval of this initiative.