- The motion sponsored by MCA Ami Ambala says that the cases of mental illness are exhibited by the alarming rate of alcohol and substance use.
- It calls for mandatory mental health assessment of all employees in the county.
Image: WILLISH ODUR
Are you an employee of the Nairobi government? You could soon be subjected to a mandatory mental health test, if a motion before the county assembly is passed and implemented by City Hall.
The motion cites a Kenyan National Commission of Human Rights estimate “that 25 per cent and 40 per cent of outpatients and inpatients respectively suffer from mental health conditions, with most frequent diagnoses of mental illnesses made in general hospital settings being depression, substance abuse, stress, and anxiety disorders.”
It says mental illness cases are most perverse in the public service due to poor working conditions and economic and social pressures.
The motion sponsored by MCA Ami Ambala says that the cases of mental illness are exhibited by the alarming rate of alcohol and substance use, anxiety disorders, suicides, occupational injuries, workplace conflicts and absenteeism leading to a decline in quality of service delivered and productivity among public officers.
The motion says there is a need for urgent prevention and mitigation measures by public and private sector employers that will enable timely sanitisation, counselling and assessment of mental health cases without stigma.
The motion calls for mandatory mental health assessment of all employees in the county.
The exercise is “for sensitising, diagnosing and recommending treatment for any mental health cases.”
The premise of the motion is a 2022 study by the Ministry of Health that showed Nairobi and Central regions had the highest number of mental illness cases.
The state of mental health is measured by the disease burden, epidemiological data, health facilities and systems reports, the ministry said.
The report flagged eight counties from the Mt Kenya region as among the top 10 with a prevalence of 4,000 per 100,000 people.
This implies, four per cent of their population suffer from a depressive disorder.
Nairobi has the highest disease burden in Kenya due to substance use disorder prevalence.
At least 1,157 out of 100,000 people in the capital city are mentally ill due to substance use.
Nairobi is closely followed by Kiambu, whose prevalence stands at 1,093, Kirinyaga 1,066, Mombasa 1,065, Nyeri 1,057, Murang'a 1,039, Taita Taveta 1,028 and Embu 1,007.
The ministry said the overall prevalence of mental disorders in the country stands at 10,823 for every 100,000 people.
“Prevalence rate of common mental illnesses showed 10.8 per cent prevalence of common mental disorders in the general population with 6.1 per cent due to depression and anxiety,” the report says.
The ministry said seven categories of people are at risk of aggravated mental illness including adolescents and young people, people with disabilities, trauma survivors, security officers and displaced persons.
Others are veterans and marginalised groups including LGBTQ and older people.