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Rabat – With this weekend marking World Mental Health Day, Morocco’s Ministry of Health launched a national campaign from October 10 to 17 to fight against the universal stigma of mental illness.
Themed “Mental disorder is a state of health, dignity and rights for you and me,” the campaign aims to challenge the stigma and discrimination against mentally disordered people and to raise community awareness to make it easier for them to seek help and to recover.
Arguing that people with mental illness should be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of human rights, the ministry revealed that surveys have shown that negative social attitudes worsen people’s conditions, hinder their integration within the society, and prevent them from having access to treatment.
According to the World Health Organization, over 700 million people suffer from depression globally, and 50% of them do not receive proper medication.
The ministry of health has been working on a new strategy to improve mental health treatment in Morocco through 4 main actions: improving psychiatry departments, diversifying therapy offers and mental health interventions, protecting patients’ rights by fighting against stigmatization, and reinforcing healthcare measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on people’s mental health, including frontline health workers, students, people living alone, and especially those with pre-existing mental health conditions.
Support provided by relatives and friends is an essential pillar to spread hope to those in need and to reduce the mortality, morbidity and disability for persons with mental disorders.
Mental health could also affect households’ income and lead many individuals into poverty as homelessness is far more common for people with mental disorders than for the rest of the population.
To reduce the severe impact mental health can have over a person’s life, WHO’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 set four main objectives to enhance recovery and promote human rights, strengthen effective leadership and governance for mental health, and implement strategies for promotion and prevention in mental health.
To reach universal health coverage, the action plan also aims to establish information systems, evidence-based research for mental health as well as to provide comprehensive, integrated, and responsive social care services in various communities.
