Moroccan Head of Mission Nija challenges youths, media to manage mental health

The Head of Mission for the Kingdom of Morocco in Malawi, Abdulkader Nija, has challenged youth in Malawi to come up with messages that can help in the management of mental health.

Nija was speaking in Lilongwe on Saturday during a training on Mental Health and Gender Justice bringing together youths and the media organized by Youth Advocacy Platform (YAP) with funding from Tilitonse Fund, Comic Relief, and UKaid.

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 He said the two parties (the media and youths) have the power to help reduce mental health incidences through positive messages in social media, radio, and newspapers.

“Youths should speak out on issues of mental health to break the silence which is there through social media as most of them pay attention to social media,” he said

Observations indicate that from January to April, 2023, almost 116 individuals have committed suicide due to mental health.

Nija believed that if youths and the media come together to shape up the messages that can break the silence on mental health, deaths due to mental health can be reduced.

YAP Executive Director, Elias Mambo, said they have embarked on campaign to break the silence on mental health through the youths and the media.

“We have targeted universities to train key supporters so that they can handle mental health issues at a lower level,” he said.

Mambo added that suicide cases are arising each and every day therefore we need to curb such cases among the society by training so many peer supporters.

He believed that the youths have a role to play in making sure that they can talk to other youths.

Mambo therefore called upon victims of mental health to come and speak out, breaking the silence, so that they can preserve their lives while others can learn a lesson that mental health can cause depression, school drop out therefore leading to death.