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Foundation advocates promotion of mental health agenda

In commemoration of the 2021 World Mental Health Day, PanAfrican Capital Foundation, the CSR arm of PanAfrican Capital Holdings, is advocating the promotion of mental health agenda in families, workplaces and every area of the society. The foundation hosted mental health and medical experts in a webinar tagged “The Pandemic, Medical Practitioners & Mental Health”.…

In commemoration of the 2021 World Mental Health Day, PanAfrican Capital Foundation, the CSR arm of PanAfrican Capital Holdings, is advocating the promotion of mental health agenda in families, workplaces and every area of the society.

The foundation hosted mental health and medical experts in a webinar tagged “The Pandemic, Medical Practitioners & Mental Health”. Speakers at the webinar are Dr. Abimbola Bowale, Medical Director, Mainland Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) and Lagos COVID-19 Isolation Centre, Yaba, Lagos; Dr. Yewande Oshodi, Consultant Psychiatrist, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and Senior Lecturer, College of Medicine University of Lagos and Dr. Debo Odulana, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Doctoora E-Health.

Omolola Ojo, Executive Secretary, PAC Foundation said the webinar is to raise the profile of mental health and how it affects people, from the medical practitioners who attend to others, the health sector and society during the pandemic.

“As reflected in our strategic focus areas HEEE (Health, Environment, Education, Economic Empowerment), PAC Foundation is committed to investing in social good for impact in our community and society at large,” Ojo said.

Dr. Abimbola Bowale while speaking about ‘The stress of the Pandemic on our Healthcare System’ stated that Healthcare workers (HCWs) play pivotal roles in outbreak responses. He said, “the Ebola outbreak that occurred in 2014 equipped Lagos State to better manage the pandemic despite how unprecedented it was. Not that it didn’t come with its own challenges.”

He explained that the medical practitioners in the state had to deal with patient’s reactions, families concern and ensure that they are not a risk to themselves and their family.

Dr. Yewande Oshodi addressed ‘Mental Health among Medical Practitioners in the face of pandemic’. She explained that frontline workers shoulder a lot of feelings and anxiety despite being the caregivers.

According to Dr. Yewande, “we lost some of our colleagues to the fight against the pandemic. The loss, anger, fear, guilt, anxiety, stress and emotional trauma that comes with handling such responsibility requires that we all take out time to address the state of our mental health.”

Speaking on ‘Bridging the Gap: Pandemic and E-Health Infrastructure’, Dr. Debo Odulana, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Doctoora E-Health lamented that people are yet to take advantage of technology in bridging the gaps that exist within our health system despite the availability of free digital platforms.

Odulana said, “patient education and being patient with the education we are giving is paramount to streamlining the kind of care patients get and how efficient we serve them.”

Dr. Timothy Akinmulere, CEO of Equitable Health Access Initiative, commended the panelist for the informative session that brought to light the struggles which exist within the health system and solutions that can be explored to ensure that issues surrounding mental health are better addressed.

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