Challenging stigma around mental illness in the midst of Covid-19One of the most challenging barriers to building inclusive communities can be tackling stigma attached to mental illness. In the advent of Covid-19, people experiencing existing mental health concerns have faced further stigma when trying to access health services, receive medication, or support networks. Lockdowns have...
Generating practical and policy support for mental health in West AfricaOver two five-year projects between January 2010 and the project’s completion in December 2019, CBM, supported a mental health leadership project designed to support and bolster the mental health services and combat stigma associated with mental illness and create national stakeholder councils across five countries...
Applying the lessons from Ebola to the COVID-19 crisis As countries rapidly formulate appropriate responses to the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued an urgent statement noting, “Unless governments and communities take action discrimination against people with disabilities could increase during the COVID-19 pandemic”. It is useful to examine...
Today is ‘R U OK’ day, a national campaign which aims to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them and support anyone struggling with life.It’s time to check in with colleagues, friends and family members and ask if they are OK. Listen to their response and don’t just take ‘fine’ for an answer.Offering...
At just 26 years old, an accident at work resulted in Hein losing his sight. No longer able to take care of his wife and child the way he had previously, Hein struggled with the physical and psychological impacts that accompany sudden blindness.“I was very depressed. I wanted to die. I thought, ‘I am a...
Article & video blog by CBM Australia's CEO, Jane Edge.In the next five days CBM Board Chair Mick Turnbull and I will be travelling across Indonesia to witness first-hand the life-changing work that has transformed the lives of thousands of people living with disabilities, their families and their communities.Indonesia is a nation of contrasts. Although economic growth is high,...
In many countries, people with psychosocial disabilities such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and even epilepsy – which is not technically a mental illness - are often feared by their communities, and experience harsh discrimination. The lack of access to regular medication and social support mechanisms, means that people with mental health conditions are often isolated,...
After becoming unwell, Nazir needed support to become well enough to work. CBM Australia, with Aceh Project partner PASKA, was able to help....
Nazir was studying at University. But when his father fell ill and his mother couldn’t support the family on her own, Nazir went home to be with his family....
"No one was caring for them primarily because no one knows what to do. But this has changed, I learned and I tell everyone in my village that there is treatment for this."This story comes from Felicia, who is from Nigeria. Felicia is an incredible primary health care worker for a CBM partner mental health...