Afrigather On October 10, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) South Africa attended the World Mental Health Day (WMHD) commemoration hosted by the National Department of Health. The occasion occurred at Madadeni Hospital in Newcastle inside the KwaZulu-Natal Province to mark World Psychological Well being Day. The first goal was to foster neighborhood unity underneath the theme “Psychological Well being is a Common Human Proper. Our minds. Our rights”. The occasion featured quite a lot of insightful discussions, partaking displays, and a dedication to addressing urgent psychological well being points in South Africa.
WHO supported this exercise with provision of consciousness and branding materials, logistical and technical experience. The proceedings commenced with an official briefing within the hospital boardroom, bringing collectively key figures in psychological well being advocacy and repair supply. Distinguished company included the Honorable Minister of Well being, Dr. Mathume Joe Phaahla, Deputy Minister Dr. Sibongiseni Dhlomo, Ms. Nomagugu Simelane the KwaZulu Natal Member of the Govt Council (MEC) for Well being, Dr. Sandile Buthelezi Director-Normal, Nationwide Division of Well being, and different esteemed officers from authorities departments and civil society akin to Advocate Bongani Majola, the Chairperson for the South African Human Rights Commission. Dr. Owen Legal guidelines Kaluwa, the WHO South Africa Nation Consultant, was additionally current, acknowledging the assist and significance positioned on psychological well being and psychosocial well-being.
This yr’s World Psychological Well being Day celebration offered a platform for world unity, anchored by the theme “Psychological Well being is a Common Human Proper.” Dr. Kaluwa launched the WHO’s tagline, “Our Minds, Our Rights,” emphasizing the interconnectedness of psychological well being with total well-being.
In South Africa, your entire month of October is devoted to Psychological Well being Consciousness, focusing not solely on public training but additionally on combating the stigma and discrimination typically confronted by people with psychological sicknesses.
Dr. Kaluwa acknowledged the substantial hole between the demand for psychological well being providers and their provide, highlighting the disparity in price range allocation, primarily directed in direction of centralized psychological well being establishments. This imbalance, compounded by elements like poverty, stigma, and discrimination, impedes entry to complete psychological well being care.
Regardless of world and regional commitments, challenges persist. Dr. Kaluwa counseled the Nationwide Division of Well being’s efforts to include psychological well being providers into the common well being protection mechanism underneath the Nationwide Well being Insurance coverage, addressing the remedy hole, particularly amongst weak populations.
The commemoration occasion featured a complete program, together with an official briefing, exhibition stalls walkabout, and a sequence of displays from numerous views. Notable periods included discussions on the position of communities, faith-based organizations, and conventional well being practitioners in selling psychological well being.
Following the hospital briefing, delegates launched into a tour of Madadeni Hospital, together with a go to to the psychiatry ward the place they interacted with psychological well being sufferers. This hands-on expertise offered a poignant reminder of the human faces behind the statistics, reinforcing the urgency of addressing psychological well being challenges.
Musical performances, private testimonials, and commitments from varied stakeholders underscored the multi-faceted method wanted to handle psychological well being challenges in South Africa.
The occasion concluded with a name for extra multi-sectoral efforts to handle the social determinants of psychological well being and a pledge from Dr. Kaluwa to proceed supporting psychological well being entry throughout all ranges of care within the nation.
This was certainly a uncommon occasion the place all of the senior political rules at each the Nationwide and Provincial governments convened across the theme which is a transparent testomony of the rising coverage significance of psychological well being and the devastating social financial impression occasioned by it poor entry.
The WHO intends to increase the discourse to make sure that Psychological Well being consciousness isn’t just confined to October tenth however that it varieties half and parcel of each public well being discourse all year long in step with the cross slicing nature of psychological Well being.
As a follow-up to this occasion, different companions and stakeholders will likely be holding strategic WMHD occasions all through this month all aligned to the theme “Psychological Well being is a Common Human Proper.” WHO will likely be attending a few of them and offering technical assist whereas appearing as a catalyst to make sure that Psychological Well being stays excessive on the well being coverage agenda in addition to being mainstreamed into different sectors.
Take heed to the WHO South Africa podcast on Psychological Well being here.
