KARACHI: The Dawood Foundation, the charitable arm of the Dawood Hercules Group, has entered into a strategic partnership with the British Asian Trust to promote mental health support among frontline workers and the people directly affected by Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the Rs1 billion programme, outreach services will be developed to provide mental health support and referral for frontline workers, patients screened and tested for Covid-19 through the Indus Health Network and other partner hospitals, and the people in general as well.

The programme will be executed in collaboration with Interactive Research and Development (IRD) Pakistan, a health delivery and research organisation that has devised specific mental health interventions catered to healthcare providers and population affected by Covid-19.

According to Shahzada Dawood, Vice Chairman of Dawood Hercules Corporation, “while effects of Covid-19 on our physical health have come increasingly under focus, the issue of mental health and psychological distress cannot be ignored in terms of the overall health and well-being. The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the mental health crisis in Pakistan, highlighting an urgent need to make support services more widely accessible. By leveraging the expertise and experience of British Asian Trust, we aim to create a meaningful impact by improving accessibility of mental health services and changing community attitudes towards this important topic”.

Richard Hawkes, the Chief Executive of the British Asian Trust, said: “There has been global recognition that Covid-19 is having and will continue to have a significant impact on mental health. Particularly in parts of the world where mental health is under-acknowledged and under-funded, the uncertainty, anxiety, fear and isolation caused by the pandemic is having a devastating impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing. With a common desire to respond to this mental health crisis, The

British Asian Trust, Dawood Foundation and IRD Pakistan are coming together in a strategic partnership to develop a joint approach to provide mental health services. With our combined efforts, we hope to provide support to over 20,000 individuals over the next few months.”

Aneeta Pasha, Country Director of IRD Pakistan, said that “we are very excited to be a part of this initiative and to be supported by the Dawood Foundation and British Asian Trust. We know there is an incredible need for mental health services in these exceptional times and are encouraged by the support we have received in our endeavor to provide meaningful interventions to create an impact in mental health amid the Covid-19 environment”.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2020