Nakuru County Government is working on a new comprehensive mental health wellness support project aimed at improving access to mental healthcare and reducing stigma surrounding mental illness.
The devolved unit's administration has announced that the initiative will focus on providing support within communities and at workplaces, including training of supervisors to recognize signs of mental health issues and offer appropriate support.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Health Services Ms Roselyn Mungai indicated that the project will also focus on providing psycho-educational support and training for selected community members and managers at workplaces towards promoting free discussion on mental health challenges and empowering members of the Kenyan society on how to identify, cope and respond to mental health concerns.
The initiative that is being designed to place an emphasis on community outreach and education programs to reduce stigma surrounding mental illness and encourage individuals to seek help has received support from Amref Health Africa, Johnson & Johnson's Global Health Equity team, the University of Nairobi, the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) and the NGO Kamili.
