Dr. Dévora Kestel, Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organisation
Doha: As the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of communities around the world, experts discuss fears and solutions surrounding mental wellbeing during lockdown — and beyond, in a special online edition of Qatar Foundation’s Education City Speaker Series in collaboration with the World Innovation Summit for Health, yesterday.
The online event, “Global Perspectives: Mental Health in a COVID-19 World”, saw speakers from Qatar, the US, Europe, and Africa and they cautioned that COVID-19 has left mental health services at a crossroads that could either lead to greater awareness and more community-based care, or see them being overlooked with serious long-term consequences.
The panel featured Dr. Dévora Kestel, Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organisation; Dr. Sharifa Al Emadi, Executive Director at Doha International Family Institute, Qatar; Paola Barbarino, Chief Executive Officer of Alzheimer’s Disease International; Paul Farmer, Chief Executive Officer of Mind, United Kingdom; Yasmin Mogahed, Author and International Public Speaker; Dr. Janice Cooper, Senior Project Advisor – Global Mental Health, The Carter Center, Liberia/US.
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive Officer of Mind, United Kingdom
The session was moderated by Mishal Husain, global news presenter, journalist, and documentary-maker.
The discussion shed light on stress that the pandemic and the lockdown of nations that it has led to placing on people’s mental wellbeing, the risks and the support that needs to be provided to those struggling to cope.
“We have to take this opportunity to build back better, making sure mental health services are available for those who need them, and moving from institutionalized care to community care,” Dr. Kestel told the webinar.
Yasmin Mogahed, Author and International Public Speaker
“We need to increase the volume of advocacy for the inclusion of mental health in any COVID-19 recovery plan, building mental health systems and avenues of care for people even in places where they were previously not available. There are more conversations generally about the impact that COVID-19 is having on people’s mental health, but it is not enough — we need to make changes that ensure support is sustainable,” said Dr Kestel.
According to Dr. Al Emadi, the crisis may reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and seeking help, and also reinforce the importance of the family unit. “People are working from home at the same time as caring for their family, so parents have to understand their children, talk with them, and explain the reality of this situation to them,” she said.
“But, at the same time as giving time for their children, parents have to make time for themselves. And we must recognise that while we may be physically apart from each other, we can still communicate with and protect each other,” she added.
Paul Farmer of UK-based mental health charity ‘Mind’ said: “Leaving aside the psychological consequences of this crisis will store up financial and health consequences, potentially for years to come. This is a real crossroads moment in understanding how the progress made in recent years about raising mental health awareness will be converted by governments and populations, as we enter an extremely risky phase for the mental health of our communities.”
