“After the acute phase when we’re dealing with the direct threat, the next big threat will be in the area of mental health. Cases of gender-based violence have increased, mental health issues have worsened, and teenage pregnancies have escalated, he said. The wave of mental health conditions comes against a system that cannot contain it. Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, the President had formed a task force on mental health whose report: “Mental health and well-being: towards happiness and national prosperity”, came out last week. PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCYIt also addressed handling stigma through information and programmes to change mental health perceptions, education and information in school, and declaring mental health a public health emergency so that specialised programmes to deal with it are in place.

Source: Daily Nation July 14, 2020 06:56 UTC