Campaign for Mental Health (C4MH)
The numbers are staggering – 1 in 10 Indians suffers from some serious mental illness issue at some point in their lives, and 10% of the population is affected at any given time. Nearly 75% of those affected are never able to understand their illness or seek access to mental healthcare services.
That’s millions of people suffering in silence for problems that are mostly effectively treatable. And despite this growing problem, India spends a paltry 0.06% of its total health budget on mental healthcare (Population of India: 132.42 Cr., Health Budget: 48,853 Cr. Mental Health budget: 23.93 Cr.).
One student commits suicide in India every hour. So many young lives lost, so much human and national potential wasted, only because of a lack of support and understanding from those around them and the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
So what is the solution?
Generating Awareness
Capacity Building
Learning Self-Help Methods
Seeking help from professionals
Partnerships with organizations across sectors
Campaign for Mental Health has been envisioned as a vibrant network of individuals and organizations active in the social, education and health fields. C4MH aims to create a movement and a lasting impact on the way mental health is perceived in India. C4MH seeks to initiate dialogues and remove stigma and shame around Mental Health among people by using a multi-media participatory approach.
The C4MH Team has designed and developed innovative tools and materials for community engagement, creating awareness as well as training and capacity building. The tools developed include traditional floor games (specifically modified games that are advantageous due to the familiarity with the format, ease of understanding, nostalgia due to past experiences and the players’ childhood memories, apart from the fun and entertainment factor), story scrolls (inspired by comics, the bioscope and the traditional Indian storytelling techniques of Katha, Kavad, Phad and Patachitra, all put together) and information cubes (highlighting the salient information of the topic).
Training and Capacity Building
2 Trainings
13 Organisations
64 Participants
Awareness Campaigns
21 Organisations and Institutions
70 Campaigns
250+ volunteers