The Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Foundation (MKRF) has joined hands with the British Asian Trust (BAT) to promote mental health and eliminate the stigma surrounding it.

Shahrukh Hasan, the MKRF and Jang Group’s group managing director, and Sanaa Ahmed, psychotherapist and lead on the mental health portfolio at the BAT Pakistan, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to launch a year-long awareness campaign on mental health.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanaa said: “This is such an important campaign to us and something we are very passionate about because mental health is a stigmatised topic in Pakistan and we don’t talk about it enough.”

She explained that one of the main obstacles to people seeking help or seeking help too late was due to mental health being a taboo subject. The partnership between Geo-Jang and BAT was a once in a lifetime opportunity where they could really reach every household in Pakistan and spread awareness about mental health, she said.

“We are seeing a mental health crisis not just in Pakistan but globally and it’s really important to work on prevention and early intervention, and teach children from a young age how to talk about their feelings, express themselves and how to take care of their own mental health to stop it from becoming a mental illness or something that’s more severe,” the psychotherapist maintained.

“So we are really excited about this opportunity as our hope is that by the end of the campaign in the 12 months, we will not only change attitudes and mindsets around mental health but we will also push for the government and other key stakeholders to start prioritising mental health at a policy level as well.”

Hasan said the MKRF had been running campaigns on social ills, women empowerment, education, etc. “So when we thought of running a campaign on mental health, we needed a partner who has the expertise and passion required for it and who has the reach so that we can bring all experts on one page,” he remarked.

He said the MKRF was pleased to sign the agreement with BAT after almost one year of negotiations. “One out of every four people suffers from some form of mental illness and unfortunately, it is rising among children as well. Incidents of suicide and other related problems are alarmingly on the rise. Therefore, this partnership is timely and essential,” he said as he express the hope that with the BAT’s networking and Geo-Jang Group’s outreach, the campaign would make a significant impact.

“This will be a one-year campaign, and we aim for three or four key outcomes by the end: First, every Pakistani will be well-informed about mental health and when they see red flags in their family or friends, they will know how to respond appropriately. We will educate people on how to react and display supportive behaviour, and avoid saying anything that could worsen the situation. Mental health discussions will no longer carry stigma or embarrassment,” Hasan explained. “Secondly, we will share happy stories of people who have overcome mental health issues and have fully recovered.”

He said that mental illness was curable and reversible. He added that the campaign would create a powerful call to action so that if people saw someone struggling with their mental health, they would know what to do and the helplines they would need to approach.