In his video message to the world population in connection with the World Mental Health Day, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom stressed the need to help others to curb the impact of mental health.
The Director-General said “Every forty seconds someone loses their life to suicide. Every single loss is a tragedy. Suicide can affect anyone, anywhere, young and old from all walks of life. If you are worried about someone, reach out and offer your support, encourage them to seek help, offer to go with them to an appointment, let them know you care.”
He also added: “If you are struggling and wondering how you can go on, talk to someone you trust and ask for help. However hard thing gets, there is hope. You can find joy in life again. Never give up, never ever give up.”
To the same token, Saint Paul Millennium Medical College (SPMMC) Psychiatrist and Public Health Specialist Dr. Tigist Zerihun also emphasized on giving due attention to mental healthiness.
As to her, mental health concerns all since mental wellbeing is all about the road to success. “Lack of early mental health treatment worldwide is affecting people to struggle with mental illness. Above all, due to lack of early mental health treatments, the working generation [the youth] is exposed to lose opportunities to lead fulfilling lives. Thus, mental health is severely limiting the socio-economic contribution of the new generation,” she noted.
She also underscored that most Ethiopians in rural and urban areas lack treatment opportunities in their surroundings. Not only this, but people also doubt if there is a cure for mental health in hospitals. Most of the time, individuals prefer traditional treatment in their vicinity. To this end, working vastly on awareness creation about the availability of mental treatment in hospitals pays off and it is important to save more individuals from the curse of mental health problems. The society has also a responsibility to treat mental health patients properly.
SPMMC is playing its level best regarding the treatment of mental health problems in the country. Expanding the quality and quantity of sector professionals, improving medicine and treatment materials supply and working in coordination with pertinent stakeholders is fundamental to deliver competitive mental health treatments in Ethiopia, Dr. Tigist underlined.
On the other hand, lack of well-trained mental health professionals, adequate medicinal supply and in-availability of enough bedrooms for patients inside the Saint Paul Millennium Medical Hospital (SPMMH) are the major challenges to treat mental health properly in the country.
The growing impact of a bad addiction is directly related to the level of mental health and suicide. In Ethiopia, the consumption of tobacco and khat are the major causes that lead the youth to struggle with mental health problems.
The Ethiopian Psychiatrists’ Association and other stakeholders’ contributions are backing more in the efforts of curbing the impact of mental health problems.
The professionals educate and facilitate mental healthiness in the country by distributing mental health-related information.
WHO stresses the global community to take part in “40 seconds of action” aimed at improving awareness of the significance of suicide as a global public health problem. In addition to this improving knowledge of what can be done to prevent suicide and reducing the stigma associated with suicide and let people who are struggling know that they are not alone.
Accordingly, the World Mental Health Day is annually celebrated on 10 October. This year’s event focused on suicide prevention. The day is marked under the themed “40 seconds of action” to raise awareness of the scale of suicide around the world and the role that each of us can play to help prevent it. Every 40 seconds, someone loses their life to suicide, according to the World Health Organization report.
The Ethiopian Herald October 17, 2019
BY TEWODROS KASSA
