Advocacy workshop at Ramechhap

An advocacy workshop was organized by TPO Nepal at Khandadevi Rural Municipality on 17^th June, Manthali Municipality on 18^th June, Ramechhap Municipality on 18^th June, and Likhu Tamakoshi Rural Municipality on 19^th June, 2019. These workshops were organized with the support of Americares under the MHIRa project and International Rehabilitation Council for Victims of Tortures (IRCT) under the GATES project. A total of 118 participants participated in these 4 workshops, including the mayor, deputy mayor, chairperson, deputy chairperson, chief administrative officer, ward chairpersons, executive committee members, and health, education and social development section chief of the respective municipalities and rural municipalities.

The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Pitambar Koirala, Program Coordinator and a presentation was given by Mr. Suraj Koirala, Executive Manager at TPO Nepal. The presentation focused on the global and national scenario of mental health, its causes and consequences, disaster, gender, torture and mental health, and the roles and responsibilities of the local government. Expert opinion was given by Professor Shishir Subba, PhD, about the importance of psychosocial intervention and support in the community.

In the end, the locally elected representatives expressed strong commitment in their remarks towards the inclusion of mental health within the municipality budget. “All three levels of the government should equally prioritize mental health, just like any other health issues. Mental health should be included by all local governments in their policies and programs. TPO Nepal has contributed a lot in Ramechhap district by implementing this mental health project”, said Mr. Ramesh Basnet, Mayor of Manthali Municipality.