Amina Abdalla, the chairperson of the Mombasa Women Empowerment Network, has volunteered to take mentally ill patients to receive Covid-19 vaccines.
The group has been enlisted by the County Government of Mombasa in the dissemination of the vaccines.
In a Facebook post seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the partnership has seen 63 patients suffering from mental health get vaccinated. This was in a vaccination drive event done in Changamwe.
The event was graced by Mombasa County Commission Gilbert Kitiyo MBS and the area chiefs. They got vaccinated together with the 63 patients. The total account of those vaccinated is 75.
Amina picks mentally ill patients from the streets and hands them to the centre. It is at the centre where they are taken care of, as they receive treatment of the jab before being handed over to the families.
“We first counsel them before administering the first dose. Sadly, they do not have their national identification card so we cannot key in their details to show they have taken the dose,” she told Nation.
The network advocates for mentally ill patients to receive love and care. Most of them lack shelter as the majority are drawn from streets after being neglected by families.
The group champions against stigmatization over the patients and it is for this reason that they have sought partnerships with both government and NGOs.
A report by mental health taskforce indicated that a common mental health disorder is amongst one in every ten people. This transcribes to a huge mental health burden on the government.
Furthermore, it showed that Kenya being a World Health Organization member was part of the 28 percent that don’t have a mental health budget.
Most of the patients apart from suffering stigmatization are neglected thereby, looking after themselves. The Mental Health Center in Mombasa offers a relief to the patients to accessing Covid-19.
