The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), along with Qatar’s leading healthcare providers, has launched a public awareness campaign to educate the public about mental health and to remove the stigma associated with mental health conditions.
The MoPH is collaborating with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Sidra Medicine, and Naufar for the campaign, which begins tomorrow (October 10), World Mental Health Day.
Mahmoud Saleh Al Raisi (Source: The Peninsula Qatar)
Mahmoud Saleh Al Raisi (pictured), Chair of the National Taskforce for Mental Health and Wellbeing and Chief of the Continuing Care Group at HMC, explained that raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing is of enormous importance and is one of the seven priority areas outlined in Qatar’s National Health Strategy.
“Across the world, increasingly, more is being done to raise awareness of mental health issues. In Qatar we want to go further as recent research suggests that one in five people in Qatar will be affected by a mental illness at any given point in time,” said Al Raisi.
Dr Samya Ahmad Al Abdulla, Deputy National Lead for Mental Health and Wellbeing and Executive Director of Operations, PHCC, explained that mental health is about the way we think, feel, and behave and our ability to manage everyday situations.
“We all experience feelings of stress, anxiety, and sadness, and most of the time these feelings pass quickly, but for some people, these feelings persist and negatively impact their quality of life,” said Dr Al Abdulla.
The symptoms of mental illness are often less obvious than those of physical illness, yet their impact on the sufferer can be equally debilitating.
“It is important that people understand the potential severity of mental illness. Just because the outward symptoms of conditions such as depression and anxiety can go unseen, we must not underestimate the impact they can have on the individual. Mental health and physical health should not be thought of as separate. They are often directly linked; physical illness can increase a person’s risk of developing mental illness and, similarly, mental illness can negatively impact on physical health,” stated Dr. Majid Al Abdulla, Chair of the Mental Health Service at HMC.
Iain Tulley, Qatar National Health Strategy 2018-2022 Lead for Mental Health and Wellbeing and CEO of HMC’s Mental Health Service, underlined the importance of focusing on mental health for Qatar.
“The launch of this campaign emphasizes the priority that is being given to mental health across the health system and the country. We will continue to work with healthcare partners and other organizations across Qatar to raise the profile of mental health and wellbeing and to promote an environment where mental health is talked about as openly as physical health,” said Tulley.
The campaign will run throughout October and November and include messaging via newspapers, TV, radio, and social media, as well as several events for both the community and healthcare workers.
The campaign’s first community event takes place inside the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) this weekend, Friday, (October 11) and Saturday, (October 12).
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