Governors commit to action to improve mental health in Kenya – World Health Organization

3 August 2021 Over 180 governors and experts have come together to commit to greater action on mental health as part of a joint initiative being spearheaded by the government and the United Nations to understand the impact of mental health in Kenya and urgent action that needs to be taken.

Government at national and county levels, along with experts from academic, civil society and UN organizations reviewed opportunities and challenges in improving mental health in the country in a meeting hosted by the Ministry of Health.

The Chair of the Council of Governors Health Committee, H.E Martin Wambora and the Presidential Advisor on Mental Health,Dr. Frank Njenga described the status of mental health in Kenya as an area of massive concern. Of those seeking healthcare across the country, a staggering one quarter have mental health conditions. And yet, despite this, Kenyas Health Chief Administrative Secretary, Dr Rashid Aman indicated that expenditure on mental health is only 0.01% of the total health budget.

Kenya established a Mental Health Taskforce last year and is now embarking on a number of reforms to improve mental health care. Governors have the crucial role of delivering mental health services to their populations and thereby meeting national and global mental health targets, including relevant SDG targets.

Makueni County is leading the way in integrating mental health services into broader community-based primary health care. The meeting agreed that Makuenis approach now needed to be taken up by others.

The joint government and the United Nations initiative is stimulating discussion and developing recommendations under what is called a mental health investment case. The investment case will describe the economic and societal costs of mental health conditions in Kenya, the cost of scaling up action, the return on investment, and immediate action that is required from the government and the development partners.

You can watch the recording of the meeting here.

More here:
Governors commit to action to improve mental health in Kenya - World Health Organization