SAJIDA Foundation took upon the task of creating a two-month-long campaign on mental health
In our society, even now, suicide and mental health are taboo topics and being vocal about it is met with raised eyebrows. However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), every 40 seconds, there is someone who ends his or her life.
Almost 8,00,000 individuals per year worldwide die by suicide, which accounts for more than 75% of all suicide cases. Moreover, according to Statista, as of 2017, more than 970 million people suffers from mental health problems globally. As such, every year on September 10, the calendar marks the date as World Suicide Prevention Day, a day dedicated to providing a worldwide call for the prevention of suicides and creating mass awareness about the issue. This year, the theme for World Suicide Prevention Day is ‘Creating Hope Through Action’. Similarly, World Mental Health Day is also observed every year on October 10, the theme for which in 2021 is ‘Mental Health in An Unequal World’.
However, there is new hope as more people and organizations are coming forward to raise awareness regarding the matter. People are now more willing to educate themselves about mental health. However, the underprivileged, who makes up a large portion of our population, remains unaware of mental health issues and are usually reluctant to associate oneself with this subject,
so this year’s theme is significantly relevant in the context of our country, and SAJIDA Foundation did not skip a beat in taking action to be a part of this movement.
SAJIDA Foundation, a non-profit organization, catering to its purpose of bringing health, happiness and dignity for all, commenced its journey as a small garage school for disadvantaged children in 1987 with its late Founder Syed Humayun Kabir, who believed in the notion of reaching out to people in need, not as an act of charity but rather as part of a responsibility which resulted from humane compassion to work towards the development of the underprivileged. Thirty-four years since its inception, the foundation continues to carry forward the late founder’s legacy by channelling his values of creating lasting, meaningful changes to the areas in which it works. At the same time, it also prioritises mental health and wellbeing along with physical health, and offers to counsel as required by targeting diverse groups through its carried activities, assisting in the alleviation of the target population. Individuals and groups benefit from training, workshops, psychosocial assistance, psychiatric assessments, and counselling, as well as wellness-based activities.
It will need a concerted effort to raise awareness and dispel stereotypes about mental health and suicide among the people of Bangladesh. As a result, SAJIDA Mental Health Program strives to raise awareness, incorporate local and international leaders in the mental health field, and bring change at the grassroots level to better invoke the message and take advantage of the available information platforms. The program will have a more significant impact by using an integrated and policy-level approach, which will allow for long-term sustainable advancements toward putting mental health at the forefront of healthcare and wellbeing. Thus, the organization launched a two-month-long virtual mental health meeting. As part of their mental health campaign, the foundation will engage in eight webinars with esteemed speakers from the mental health community both on an international and local level, who will address the audience to raise awareness. Therefore, by hosting these webinars, they will be able to raise awareness about the need for better mental health support for the underprivileged and others who have limited or no access. By creating awareness, the foundation aims to establish a fairer and more informed world.
With Turn Up PR and Dhaka Tribune as the PR and Media partners respectively, these webinars will be addressing relevant topics and policy-level discussions by reaching out to a wider group of audience belonging to all strata of life and community. This collaboration will also lend legitimacy and strength to their cause, resulting in a greater impact among those they are attempting to reach.
SAJIDA successfully completed the first two webinars of the series, which took place on September 10th and September 17th, which were attended by distinguished personalities from both the international and local mental health networks. The esteemed panelists were Md. Zahidul Islam, Reabetsoe Noge, Dr Ashique Selim, Dr Yeshim Iqbal, Wiebke Welgemoed, Md. Salim, Kazi Mustafizur Rahman, Dr. Ashique Selim with Sriya Sharbojaya as moderator.
The foundation is currently steadily marching ahead to develop and deliver quality mental health services for the lower-income and ultra-poor population through an integrated, collaborative approach backed by evidence-based research.