No images? Click here [link removed]

Coronavirus Update

Dear John

I hope you and your loved ones are staying well and safe. As some countries are easing lockdown restrictions and preparing to further reopen, we have been working with our partners in Sierra Leone to lead a new mental health programme in the Port Loko District. Please support our work tackling the growing mental health concerns resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. [[link removed]]

In countries like Sierra Leone where a devastating Ebola outbreak followed a decade-long civil war, the spread of COVID-19 is taking its toll on the mental health of the people. Even before the current pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 1 in 10 people in Sierra Leone were living with a mental illness [[link removed]]. Lost livelihoods and increasing poverty caused by the coronavirus lockdown can only worsen the situation. Yet with only two practising psychiatrists in the whole of the country, and stigma around mental illness often preventing people from receiving community support, many are going without the care they need.

Health Poverty Action is working to help people through this situation. In partnership with Network for Africa and Conforti Community Aid Children Organisation (Port Loko), we will provide support for more than 200 people living with a mental illness, and their caregivers, with the offer of counselling and treatment [[link removed]]. We will be working closely with healthcare staff to support people in accessing the right care for them.

The project also aims to raise community awareness by teaching about mental health and seeks to reduce the stigma attached to mental health conditions, enabling people to access more support from their communities. We will support the setting up of community led self-help groups focusing on talking therapy, too.

Alongside this tailored support for those suffering from the psychological impacts of the pandemic, we continue to collaborate with communities to strengthen health systems and give updated advice on disease prevention. Increasing the spread of accurate information about coronavirus and how to prevent infection can help address people’s anxieties and the stigma surrounding the disease, as well as preventing further spread.

Help us support this work by donating today [[link removed]]

Thank you for reading!

In solidarity,

Sarah Cowen-Rivers

Media & Communications Manager

Health Poverty Action is a registered charity, number 290535.

Our postal address is Health Poverty Action, Ground Floor, 31-33 Bondway, London, SW8 1SJ.

Copyright © 2020 Health Poverty Action, All rights reserved. Share [link removed] Tweet [link removed] Forward [link removed] Unsubscribe [link removed]