World Mental Health Day

Date: 
October 10, 2019
Place: 
Kisumu

Celebrations began from Kondele police station at 9am with a procession led by the Kenya Scouts team. The procession matched all the way to town centre and finally arrived at Kenyatta Sportsground at noon. The procession was joined by various institutions – academic (e.g. Maseno university, Kenya Medical Training Institute, and Thika Medical college), health (e.g. KCH, JOORTH, and schools for the mentally disabled), civil society organizations, Kenya Scout Association, research institutions, media houses, members of the public, Ministry of Health, and the Kisumu County government. Approximately 300 persons participated in the procession.

The official ceremony began with a national anthem led by Kenya Scout Association, followed by presentations by different institutions. The presentations included drama, poems, and dance. The presentations lasted about 1 hour; thereafter, the master of ceremony invited the chairman of the planning committee who introduced members of the planning committee.  After introductions, speeches by various partners followed. Speeches revolved around the need for the County Government to increase budget allocation towards mental health services. SMART-DAPPER study,  an active member of the planning committee, was given an opportunity to speak. Ammon introduced member of the study who were present and then shared with the public about the study (location, duration, affiliation, target population, types of mental disorders of interest, and different types of treatments offered).