Yearly, Kenya joins the rest of the world in marking World Bipolar Day which is observed on March 30.
The day is set aside to create and raise awareness about bipolar, which affects most people.
Bipolar disorder causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and concentration.
This year's theme was Bipolar Together.
Most people have experienced mental illness unknowingly.
However, the country has limited resources for those struggling with mental health issues.
Kenya has 54 psychiatrists, 418 trained psychiatric nurses, 10 medical social workers and very few psychologists to cater to a population of about 47 million, four per cent of whom are likely to suffer from a major mental disorder.
This has however attracted less attention thus contributing to mental health care system hitting the skids and remaining a low policy and budget priority.
Noteworthy, during this electioneering period, very few hopeful candidates have, however, included mental health as a priority in their manifestos.
Prioritising resource allocation for mental health services in the country is often a challenge because of competing health priorities.
The competing priorities include infectious diseases such as HIV, malnutrition, unsafe drinking water, malaria and increasing rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiac diseases and renal failure.
Despite that, every aspiring candidate needs to urgently take the initiative of championing mental health, especially through their political manifestos.
It is sickening to see them prioritising other areas like improving security measures, good governance and food security yet they ignore the status of the mental care system—which is an area of concern.
Kenya's mental health and well-being has for a long time been neglected as most of our leaders in the country spend most of their time trying to fix the economy.
As a country, we have a measure of success in dealing with both but in the last couple of years, it has become clearer that a good economy with commensurate mental health will be enough.
Lately, we have witnessed an unprecedented number of people and families adversely being affected mentally.
This is the ticking time bomb. This now sets a challenge to the next government plus the candidates who are eyeing different seats.
They will now be forced to go an extra mile in devising pragmatic reforms that will go a long way in ensuring that country's mental health care system is improved.
Mental health is everyone's business and every aspirant should be ready to promote mental health in individual capacities.
Whilst Kenya is not unique in the prevalence of mental health, it does, as with other low-income countries, experience an overwhelming gap in basic mental healthcare delivery to the majority of the population.
The growing political stability and burgeoning economic prosperity bode well for the improvement of healthcare in general, yet substantial investment in building capacity for effective mental healthcare is still vital.
Communication and media students at Rongo University
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
