Set to run for three years, Fr. Ameledji said, the initiative “will focus on three key pillars: raising awareness and education, community mobilization for better identification and care, and fostering reintegration opportunities for stabilized patients.”
“Sensitization campaigns will be carried out in parishes in both urban and rural areas to combat stigmatization and change public perceptions of mental illness,” he said, and continued, “Now is the time to raise awareness, break taboos, and promote a culture of solidarity and empathy in their favor, for an inclusive and more forgiving society.”
Fr. Ameledji outlined the value of reaching out to those living with mental disorders, and added, “In these sick brothers and sisters, we should recognize the face of Christ.”
“The Church will work with families and communities to help identify individuals in distress and facilitate their access to medical and spiritual care,” the National Executive Secretary for Health Pastoral Care of CECCI said.
“A crucial component of the initiative is the creation of partnerships to provide training and employment opportunities for those recovering from mental health conditions, promoting their reintegration into active society,” Fr. Ameledji said about the initiative that was to be launched on February 11 at St. James Cocody Parish of the Archdiocese of Abidjan, on the annual event of the World Day of the Sick.
The launching of the initiative, he said during the February 10 Press Conference, “will serve as a moment of prayer for individuals suffering from mental illnesses and their families while highlighting the urgency of addressing mental health issues in society.”
“The Catholic Church will collaborate with the Ministry of Health, Public Hygiene, and Universal Health Coverage to ensure the successful implementation of this initiative, particularly in terms of communication and public engagement,” Fr. Ameledji said.
Like the Good Samaritan, he appealed, “let us all be sensitive to their suffering and work together, in a synodal spirit, to restore their dignity.”
At the February 10 Press Conference, the director-coordinator of the National Mental Health Program in Ivory Coast, Professor Koua Médard, noted the growing challenges posed by mental disorders in the West African nation.
Prof. Koua stressed the need for a collective effort to provide proper care, especially for individuals living on the streets.
