Mobile App For Frontline Responder's Mental Health Announced.
On Friday, August 20, 2021, the Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination (MoNHSRC) announced the launch of a mobile application developed for the protection of “the emotional health of the frontline responders as part of the COVID19 response in Pakistan.” The mobile application entitled “MyCare+” will be launched by the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives in the near future as part of its Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) initiative. “MyCare+” will help the frontline responders in “assessing stress conditions, monitoring stress, managing stress, [excluding] other conditions and seeking help from mental health professionals, when needed.”
The MoNHSRC announced the inauguration of a MHPSS unit, funded by UNICEF Pakistan, “as a part of its emergency response to COVID-19” on July 11, 2021. The aim of the initiative was to “address stigma and discrimination of infected populations”, develop a right-based, scalable and sustainable evidence-driven MHPSS model and “raise public awareness for psychosocial well-being of at-risk population”. The MHPSS unit was to “identify and manage stress related conditions in frontline responders, and integrate mental health and psychosocial support in response activities.”
The MoNHSRC, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), inaugurated a national campaign for the protection and support of “frontline health workers in the context of Covid-19” on May 15, 2020. The national campaign entitled “We CARE” aimed at “providing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to the health workers, orienting them on using various PPE items as per international standards, and creating an overall psycho-social environment of care and support.” In addition, “We CARE” aimed to “sensitize the public, including patients and visitors at healthcare facilities, to supports frontline healthcare workers by following preventive behaviors to not only reduce the risk of infection to themselves but also reduce the work burden on and health risks for the health providers.”