Islamabad: The government’s “first dedicated mental health app and helpline” was launched on Friday, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The event occurs as the entire world observes World Health Day. The World Health Organization (WHO) is commemorating its 75th birthday this year.
“On this World Health Day, I’m happy to announce the debut of the first government-sponsored mental health helpline and app, #Humraaz. The improvement of our society depends critically on the wellbeing of the populace, especially their mental health, the premier declared on Twitter. He continued, “We need to break the taboo surrounding mental health. The tweet’s accompanying image listed the key aspects of the initiative as well as the number to call for the helpline, which is 1166.
The application will give access to citizens to reach authorities in case of suicidal thoughts or a mental health emergency. It will also allow users to make appointments with psychiatrists and psychologists and will be able to share issues they face confidentially and get appointments.
“The aim of the initiative is to provide consultation services and to help improve the health and quality of life of people suffering from deteriorating mental health,” Salman Sufi, who is head of the prime minister’s strategic reforms, had said earlier in February.
The initiative was being launched at the directives of the prime minister, he said, adding: “There are several government hospitals that are on board with their psychologists along with some others who are not government [officials].”
Sufi said that government servants who felt overwhelmed could also confidentially talk about the pressures they faced and seek assistance. “The WHO and the Ministry of Health are collectively developing it under the PM strategic reforms unit,” he added.
He said that there are not enough psychiatrists and psychologists to assist people suffering from mental health issues and those who were at risk. “But we are deploying as many as we have access to and aim to add more in later stages,” he said, adding that Pakistan was extremely late in launching such an initiative.
“This is why the prime minister asked us to take this up immediately. We are also working on introducing proper licencing and certification system for psychologists and psychiatrists. This application will help us get data more accurately rather than relying on unconfirmed reports as well,” he added.
Sufi said it was important to normalise a conversation about mental health and stop the stigmatisation. “And this app will pave the way for mental health to be recognised as a very important public health concern as the government is supporting citizens suffering from various mental health problems,” he said.
