Public hearings on the state of mental health in Kenya will begin from January 13.
The taskforce on Mental Health appointed by the government has released its schedule for public hearings where it will receive memoranda from members of the public. Thereafter, assess Kenya’s mental health systems including the legal, policy and administrative environment.
“The taskforce will outline legal policy and administration reform proposals aimed at transforming mental health systems for improved quality of life,” reads the brief from the Ministry of Health headquarters.
According to the notice, the task force chaired by Dr. Frank Njenga will commence the hearing with sittings on January 13 in Meru.
The team will then move to Makueni, Eldoret, Nakuru on January 14, 15 and 16 respectively.
They will then for move to Kakamega (January 17), Kisumu (January 20), Nyeri (January 21), Garissa (January 22) and finally Mombasa on January 23.
The Taskforce will complete its sittings in Nairobi on January 27.
Those wishing to submit their handwritten memoranda to the taskforce must hand over their documents to the Ministry of Health headquarters at Afya House in Nairobi through postal address or by email to menatalhealthtaskforce1@gmail.com.
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The taskforce was inaugurated on December 11 last year by Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki.
In Kenya, the total mental health expenditure per person is just over Ksh 3 (Mental Health Atlas 2017); and there are only 0.19 mental health workers per 100,000 population (Mental Health Atlas, 2017).
