Being: Mapping Youth Mental Health Landscapes: Insights from Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam
May 10, 2024 09:30 AM
Alarming rise in suicide by youth in Pakistan
Youth Mental Health Collaborative Network
We are a collaborative network of mental health researchers, experts, youth advisors, and community advocates under the International Mental Health Initiative, called Being. The network aims to promote youth mental health in Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam. This collaborative network is led by the Global Institute of Human Development at Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Pakistan, a leading mental health research institute in the country and a research-driven educational institute of premier repute. This network aims to promote youth mental health in the region by:
- Undertaking insight analysis of the existing evidence to understand the local mental health and wellbeing needs of youth in Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam
- Developing a multicountry network of youth advisors to ensure meaningful youth engagement in all phases of the project
- Involving and working collaboratively with a diverse group of stakeholders to understand stakeholders’ interests, expertise, readiness to take action, willingness to collaborate, and potential to strengthen existing networks in order to progress the youth mental health agenda at country-level and in the region and
- Building the capacity of the network partners to promote youth mental health.
How Are We Doing ?
Our network is diligently progressing through different phases of this landscape study while thoroughly examining the unique context and priorities of youth mental health and well-being in each country. We are employing various methods such as reviewing literature, and group discussion, consultations and workshops to engage with young people at the local, district and country levels. Through these engagements we aim to understand the predominant mental health and wellbeing issues among youth and identify wellbeing stressors and challenges they face.
Our network prioritizes the mental health and wellbeing of youth through a multi-phase approach:
Phase 1: We’re looking at research specific to the country.
Phase 2: We’re engaging stakeholders through interviews, group discussions, and workshops to understand their views. We are engaging stakeholders through interviews, group discussions, and workshops to understand their views.
Phase 3: We’re gathering opinions through an online survey to reach a consensus and prioritize important youth mental health issues and wellbeing stressors.
Our Partners and Collaborators- Promoting Youth Mental Health Regionally
GIHD is joined in this effort by the General Secretariat of Mental Health and Addiction Treatment in Egypt, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia, the United Nations Children’s Fund, USA, and Johns Hopkins University, USA, institutions with demonstrated track records of working effectively to address youth mental health nationally and regionally.
Youth Engagement Framework
Our Youth Engagement Framework empowers young people by addressing barriers and ensuring that their voices are not only heard but also valued, fostering meaningful participation and engagement. It achieves this by:
- Addressing insufficient mental health literacy
- Addressing the stigma surrounding mental health difficulties
- Identification of suitable engagement methods
- Mitigation of safety concerns
By overcoming these barriers, we foster an inclusive environment where youth can contribute effectively to promoting their mental health and well-being.
Impact
The mental health of young people has critical implications for future societal wellbeing. However, it is among the most underfunded areas globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The Being Initiative aims to change this by learning about the key challenges facing young people, investing in locally and youth-led solutions, and mobilizing broader national ecosystems to create environments for young people to feel well and thrive.
In this report, we discuss the results derived from phase one of Being’s work — a year-long landscape analysis that included in-country stakeholder consultations, desk research, mobilization, and consensus-building. The lessons learned about the youth mental health landscape in each country has been used to inform the Being Initiative’s funding priorities in 12 priority countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Vietnam.
Acknowledgment
This project is supported by Being – an international mental health initiative hosted by Grand Challenges Canada (funded in part by the Government of Canada), in partnership with Fondation Botnar, The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care using UK aid through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Science for Africa Foundation, and United for Global Mental Health.
