PRESS
Mental Health is a Top 5 Non-Communicable Disease (NCD)
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UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 76
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CALL TO ACTION
1. Integrate Mental Health & NCD prevention & management in HIV care
2. Integrate wider coverage of NCDs into traditional NCD management
3. Prioritise community based - primary health services with local context
4. Provide equitable financing for HIV & NCDs in UHC packages globally
5. Endorse the Global Charter of Meaningful Involvement of PLWNCDs.
Link: https://www.ourviewsourvoices.org/global-charter/endorse
As patients when health systems fail us, we pay with our lives!
We advocate for mandatory health policy leadership inclusion at all levels.
NothingForUsWithoutUs!
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VoA & BBC - LEGAL & RELIGIOUS DECRIMINALISATION OF SUICIDE (Minute 22)
As we seek to decriminalise suicide globally, within the African cultural context the religious, social & cultural environment tends to have greater stigma than legal consequences. In these 2 features we engage lived experiences, religious leaders & psychologists to discuss the need for local context multi-dimensional advocacy.
WATCH HERE:
Voice of America Swahili (Minute 22):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqi7iBCjrTw
BBC Feature:
BBC - MENTAL HEALTH & NCD CARE
IN COVID GLOBAL CRISIS
Our family story in managing 6 NCDs and other patients across the world (mental health, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, cardiac, kidney etc) sharing our challenges in accessing healthcare during Covid. This has led to severity of NCDs, severe forms of COVID-19 and deaths. We call for better NCD investment globally and for inclusion in health decision making because when health systems fail we pay with our lives!
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WATCH HERE: https://ncdalliance.org/turning-the-tide/films/ncd-care-global-crisis
NATION - NO TO DETENTION OF
MENTALLY ILL PRISONERS
Patients at Mathari Psychiatric National Hospital Maximum Security Unit (MSU) have had their cases stuck for 30+ years! We worked hard as the National Task Force on Mental Health, Kenya Probation and Aftercare Service & Kenya Prisons. We did legal petitions with disability lawyer Magiri Mburu & the mentally ill prisoners we have worked with at (MSU) since 2018. We had policy engagements with the National Council on Administration of Justice (NCAJ) & Presidential Power of Mercy (POMAC) Criminal Justice Review.
Link: https://nation.africa/kenya/news/court-detention-of-mentally-ill-prisoners-unlawful-3703186
KENYA PARLIAMENT & SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE ENGAGEMENT
Call to Action - Mental Health Reforms
• Patient inclusion in Parliamentary, Senate & UHC Committees
• Transition mgmt to community based primary health services
• Integrate mental health in NCD mgmt for improved health outcomes
• Enable bio-medical registration for unidentifiable homeless mentally ill persons towards state socioeconomic protection
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Call to Action -Specific to Mental Health Bill:
• Adopt WHO MOH QualityRights Kenya initiative as a policy document
• Enable supported decision making for our informed decisions and stop families from making adverse health decisions or claiming our property
• Declare mental illness a public health emergency for improved financing
• Allocate budget for socioeconomic protection in mental health financing
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NTV - Did you know that many Kenyans are AGAINST the DECRIMINALISATION of SUICIDE?
Criminalising suicide was originally intended to deter people from suicidal tendencies. However over time it has increased suicide rates due to fear of being victimised by law. The African culture religiously and socially 'criminalises' suicide as a sin & taboo. The World Health Organisation (WHO) & International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP) have called upon all countries to decriminalise suicide by 2030. In this video a few Kenyans share why they feel suicide should be criminalised, showing the real need for more sensitisation.
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