There is a need to integrate universal mental health treatments in the government’s universal health insurance cover, SHA.
These were the sentiments expressed by several of the participants from various nations who attended the two-day regional health conference in Nairobi, who they urged Kenyans and the government to emphasise regular mental health screenings alongside other disease check ups.
This comes as the number of persons suffering from mental instability rises on a daily basis due to a variety of factors.
Lucy Asewe, a volunteer at the Voluntary Service Overseas, believes it’s time Kenyans champion affordable and accessible mental health services.
“In the same way we are championing for affordability and accessibility of other services, we should also be able to champion for accessibility and affordability of mental health Services because, as it stands now, not many people are even aware that they need the mental services Most people can’t afford the services, so you find people that could be treated or situations that could be resolved going a long way or people even dying because they couldn’t afford the service or are ignorant of the mental issues or even the indicators of it.”she remarked
Mental instability has been identified as one of the leading causes of traffic accidents in Kenya, with drivers and conductors occasionally resorting to drug abuse to cope with the pressure of completing daily targets.
The Chairman of the Long Distance Drivers and Conductors Association of Kenya, Elijah Nyaga, is encouraging his members to have regular mental health checkups.
“Drivers, conductors and even the public at large are able to take mental health seriously, and they are also able to find how they can deal with it, as for now it’s not well known where people can get help on mental health issues.” said Nyaga.
Thalia Psychotherapy, an organisation which has been at the forefront of championing mental health awareness in the country and beyond the borders, is calling on the Ministry of Health to include mental health under the Taifa care, which will ensure affordability of the services.
Mercy Mwende, Chief Operations Officer at Thalia Psychotherapy, says, “If we can integrate mental health into our healthcare system, it will be very easy for us to achieve the set goal of ensuring that everyone is covered with the current Taifa care that we have. At Thalia, we have made significant progress in terms of integrating care with our existing processes, ensuring that no one is left out.”
The main challenge facing mental health is the lack of know-how on where and when one should seek mental health services, which can only be achieved with enough public sensitisation through mass media and social media platforms.
