By Andrew Walyaula
waliaulaandrew0@gmail.com
The government has been urged to channel more funds towards mental health awareness as an online awareness campaign on mental health among students was launched on Sunday, October 10th by the Kenya University Presidents Council.
The campaign is meant to create a safe environment in institutions of higher learning.
Speaking during a press briefing on the International Day of Mental Health, the student leaders said that the tough economic period conditioned by the Covid-19 pandemic had caused an increase in the number of depression and suicide cases among students.
Research has also revealed that the impact will last longer than anticipated hence more focus should be directed towards mental health.
‘The government should increase funding towards mental health from the current 0.01percent of the total health expenditure to a more substantive allocation. This can be achieved by amending the Mental Health Act to provide for a Mental Health Fund,’ said Juma Shabat from Riara University.
The leaders asked the government to intervene and look into how it handles mental health cases among youths.
University administrations and parents were asked to support the initiative since it requires joint efforts.
‘There are so many students in universities who have no money for food. Some parents and guardians do not help matters as they serve as catalysts to depression by giving undue pressure to their children,’ Shabat added.
She further urged parents to always find time to check on their children because most of them suffer silently.
Daystar university student leader Marco Laboso asked students to be their brother’s keeper.
“We must not speak in low tones when we notice a brother or sister is in distress. Many comrades suffer from mood disorders, anxiety, trauma related disorders and even substance abuse disorders. We are urging all comrades to speak out, it is ok not to be ok,” Laboso said.
Multimedia university student president Jenifer Mbogo said that they will focus on online avenues to offer counseling to students.
She added that they will use the internet to reach vast students across the country in their campaign.
Dr Eveline Maharo, a guidance and counseling teacher, says that most of the problems students encounter originate from home.
“Most of these problems originate from home. It’s therefore not right to say that universities are not working to mitigate the practices,’ she said.
She added that it’s hard to control students as they make their own decision
Research has shown that in Kenya, one in every 10 people suffer from a common mental disorder while one in every four patients attending routine outpatient services has a mental disorder.
Anxiety, depression and substance disorder are the leading diagnosed mental illnesses in Kenya.
A mental health taskforce formed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2020 recommended that mental illness should be declared a national emergency in a move to prioritize mental health as a priority health and socioeconomic agenda.
On a global scale, it is estimated that 3.8 percent of the population are depressed.
It is noteworthy that depression can lead to suicide which is ranked as the fourth leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29 with an estimated 700,000 people dying annually.
World Health Organization (WHO) observes that over 264 million people globally suffer from common mental disorder.
In Africa, Kenya is ranked as the fourth country with the highest number of people who suffer from depression.
