Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population launched, on Sunday, a campaign to educate citizens about the importance of maintaining mental health, in conjunction with the celebration of World Mental Health Day which falls on 10 October.
The campaign consists of organising a sports day for patients, including football matches, in addition to organising cultural activities within the hospitals of the General Secretariat for Mental Health in 20 hospitals and addiction treatment centres nationwide.
It will last for 30 days, during which awareness seminars will be organised within the municipality’s hospitals, youth centres, and sports clubs, to spread a culture of concern for mental health.
Menan Abdel Maksoud, Secretary-General of Mental Health and Addiction Treatment at the Health Ministry, said that the campaign will be launched from the Abbasiya Hospital for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment, in Greater Cairo, which includes Heliopolis Hospital for Mental Health, Helwan Hospital for Mental Health, and Al Khanka Hospital for Mental Health.
She further noted that the campaign will also include Sohag Hospital for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment, in Upper Egypt, which includes Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, and Aswan hospitals, in addition to the Belsafoura Center for Addiction Treatment in Sohag.
Abdel Maqsoud stressed that the Ministry of Health pays great attention to the mental health of citizens, by organising periodic campaigns and seminars aimed at raising psychological awareness among patients and their families.
