The Ministry of Public Health’s (MoPH) National Mental Health Program team has collaborated with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) on offering educational programs to promote mental health and wellbeing in Qatar.
The ‘Ma’ak’ National Mental Health and Wellbeing initiative is designed to provide education and awareness programs targeting different population groups and aims to reduce stigma attached to mental health problems.
‘Ma’ak’ (which means ‘with you’ in Arabic), was the collaborative effort of a sub-group comprising representation from the Ministry of Public Health’s (MoPH) National Mental Health Program team, HMC’s Mental Health Service (MHS) education team and Hamad International Training Center (HITC), as well as Primary Health Care Corporation.
The first sector to be addressed by the Ma’ak program is the education sector, and both HMC and PHCC have developed education materials for schools, with PHCC kicking off the schools’ engagement plans in August.
HMC’s program targeting private schools will commence towards the end of September and covers a range of educational materials for different audience groups within this sector, including school children, parents, teachers and school administrators. The schools' program curriculum includes a series of webinars and other training modules that are based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Mental Health in schools’ program.
The monthly sessions are designed to share information through free webinars on mental health and wellbeing that will be delivered by experienced mental health professionals during the schools’ semester. Schools that wish to opt in can register through the Hamad International Training Center (by sending an email to
maak@hamad.qa ) who will send them the appropriate link to the webinar.
Mr. Iain Tulley, the MoPH National Lead for Mental Health and Wellbeing, and CEO of the Mental Health Services at HMC said that great strides have been made in improving accessibility to mental healthcare service. “A common barrier to accessing mental healthcare services has been the stigma attached to mental health conditions and a lack of understanding of the range of mental health problems that exist in every society. Early on in the pandemic, Qatar established the National Mental Health Helpline which is accessible through the Qatar Unified Healthcare Contact Center on 16000. The free and confidential service has become the primary access point to mental health care and treatment in Qatar.”
“The Ma’ak program brings together expertise from a group of dedicated partners to facilitate open discussions about any psychological concerns among population groups and raise awareness about where to seek professional help. The schools’ program is the first Ma’ak program to be established, and our goal is to develop other programs that target different population groups and their respective mental health needs,” said Mr. Tulley.
The is chaired by Mr. Iain Tulley and currently includes representatives from MoPH, HMC and PHCC. Operationally the program is under the Kulluna umbrella, using HITC resources, with participation from subject matter experts.
To register your interest to participate in one of the educational webinars arranged for school teachers, parents and children respectively, please send an email to:
maak@hamad.qa
