As a mental health advocate, what would you say is the most pressing need?

To begin with, I should appreciate that we have made some strides with regards to mental health awareness but we have only scratched the surface. There is still too much stigma towards people with lived experience on mental health. Stigmatization happens because of lack of knowledge and if we can keep pushing for more awareness then it is the only weapon we have against the stigmatization. Also, much of the awareness is limited to Cities and towns. We need to move to the grassroot level since alot of stigmatization is also there. There are so many people who still believe mental health illness is witchcraft and can only be cured by prayers which is not the case. So stigma is the biggest problem even more than the mental health challenges.

Secondly, there are very very few specialists to handle the cases we have on mental health and facilities are also limited. If we can be able to have a major facility in every county then it will be great. Currently, very few are available and some have alot of bad imagine out there to an extent that People even fear checking in for support whenever they need it.

In addition, the cost of therapy is another challenge I have witnessed because many people want to get the help but it’s not easy for them to be able to pay for it. The budden of the cost of therapy can be quite huge especially for people who at the same time are struggling to put a meal on the table.

These are some of the challenge I have come across but I believe with the passing of the mental health amendment bill, I am hopeful the future is bright. Atleast you will be able to use NHIF to seek mental health services.