National mental health awareness campaign ‘Kihineh?' launched
The campaign, which will be conducted over the next year, will be supported by UNICEF.
By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
A national campaign called ‘Kihineh?’, meaning "How?" was launched on Monday, to improve mental health practices.
The campaign was launched by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih at a ceremony held at Dharubaaruge on Monday evening. In addition to the campaign, the president also launched a mental health communication strategy.
The campaign, which was based on a study conducted this year to identify barriers and challenges to mental health, is aimed at:
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Improving the mental health of individuals and communities
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Changing attitudes toward people with mental illness and eliminate discrimination
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Develop the ability to cope with difficult emotions and overcome them
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Know what needs to be done to take care of yourself and develop the ability to do it
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Creating a responsible society that accepts, cares for each other, despite ideological differences
The campaign, which will be conducted over the next year, will be supported by UNICEF, with the participation of government agencies as well as non-governmental organisations.
Research shows that the Maldives has a high prevalence of psychological problems in a global context. According to experts, one in four people in the country has some kind of mental issue. In particular, there has been an increase in psychological problems in the country after the Covid-19 pandemic.
