Health Ministry, volunteers continue to provide mental health help in Kuwait
Fifteen suicides in Kuwait from mid-March to mid-May
KUWAIT: Thousands of people have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has destroyed many families. This tough situation has affected the psychological health of many people, and has led some to commit suicide.
Various local and international reports have shown an increased rate of suicide during this crisis, related to the bad economic situation and loss of jobs. In Kuwait too, suicide cases increased during the pandemic compared to the same period in previous years. The majority of those who commit suicide are low-paid workers who have families depending on them abroad.
Psychologists have volunteered to help people over the phone to make them overcome their psychological problems. Kuwait Times previously published an article on the Kuwait Psychology Association, which formed a special rapid intervention team providing free consultation over the phone in both Arabic and English. Doctors on this team help people with their psychological problems and pressures that may lead to suicide.
Apart from NGOs, the ministry of health through its Kuwait Center for Mental Health runs a hotline 24621770 that is available daily round the clock. According to an employee of the call center of the health ministry, doctors working the hotline provide free consultation in both Arabic and English. “The doctors are from different nationalities, so they speak English and Arabic. Moreover, if a doctor is from an Asian nationality, for instance Indian, then he or she will be able to provide consultation in their language,” she told Kuwait Times.
This hotline provides psychological help for a range of issues. “The doctors are not just specialized in suicide prevention, but general psychological problems too, as these may lead to suicide if the patient doesn’t receive mental help or support. There are no other public hotlines in Kuwait, but there may be some private ones. Also, the Kuwait Center for Mental Health is providing services for free to both citizens and expats, which includes antidrug treatment, psychiatric
Mental health hotline: 24621770
treatment and others,” the employee explained.
From mid-March to mid-May, 15 suicide cases were reported in Kuwait - one by a bedoon and one
by an Egyptian, with the rest all Asian nationals. Experts consider this number higher than the average for the entire year in Kuwait. Suicide cases were reported in June as well.