The government has established wellness and counselling desks in all Huduma Centres to address mental health problems in the public service.
The desks will be handled by professional counsellors who will offer free and confidential counselling services to public servants and members of the public.
Public Service Principal Secretary Amos N. Gathecha said the move is part of an elaborate plan to address the mental health challenges in the country.
Gathecha further said the desks will go a long way in easing access to mental health services in the country.
“The State Department is cognisant that mental health is critical for the wellbeing of any society,” he said.
The PS also explained that the wellness and counselling desks were meant to address mental health challenges that had become rampant across the country.
“The State Department recognises the importance of mental health to the well-being of any society,” added the PS.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) continues to warn about the increasing cases of mental illnesses in the country leading to suicide.
According to MOH, the most common suicide risk factors are genetic, biochemical, psychological, social and cultural and may sometimes be combined with experiences of trauma and loss.
Moreover, the ministry detailed in 2021 that depression was the most common psychiatric condition in those who died by suicide.
It was estimated in 2020, that one in every 10 people suffered from a common mental disorder. The number increased to one in every four people among patients attending routine outpatient services.
Additionally, reports by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2019 and 2020, indicated that in Kenya, men are the most affected by mental illness which mostly goes undiagnosed because most people did not know what to look for as symptoms.
