By Pempho Nkhoma

Blantyre, September, 16, Mana: Nditha Rehabilitation Center has expressed worry over rising cases of men committing suicide in the country and has since advised men to open up whenever they are in stressful situations.

The Rehabilitation Centre made the appeal Sunday in Blantyre at Men’s Legacy Conference organized by Apostle Joseph Ziba’s Fountain of Victory Church’s Men’s Ministry.

Making a presentation on mental health, a psychosocial counselor at Ndithja Rehabilitation Center, Vuyiswa Tonono, said that most men do not know their mental health status.

She advised men to go for regular mental health checks to establish their mental health status through routine checkups.

“Mental health check helps to know whether a person has a healthy mind. Checkups also help to establish if a person has a mental health problem,” Tonono added.

She said men need to have a positive attitude towards their life, adding that men should be careful of what they think about themselves.

“If a person has a strong mind then this can help to cope up with everyday stress, What a person think contributes to what that person will do in future. A person’s mind has to be full of what he is looking forward to,

“When a person wakes up and start having negative thoughts about failure, about what is going wrong in life, most of the times a person look for what is going wrong instead of focusing on what is going right,” Tonono added.

The Psychosocial Counsellor urged men to be accommodative to one another to give room to share problems to get solutions.

A Rehabilitation Technician from Nditha Rehabilitation Centre, Andrady Alumando noted with concern over lack of support spaces for men to open up, observing that mental health stigma pushes more men into suicide.

“We are living in society which says men should not cry and that emotions are for the weak. Most men believe they need be strong and this prevents men to realize their mental well-being” he said while recommending talk space that should allow men to open up to talk about mental health.

Alumando encouraged men in churches and other places to open to one another and create spaces where they should discuss issues that affect their life.

“Changing mental health stigma starts with providing a safe space for others to open up and seek for professional help. Every man needs to have adequate information about mental health,” the Rehabilitation Technician added while calling for men to open up other than suffering in silence.

Apostle Ziba encouraged men to seek spiritual guidance saying that every knowledge could shape a man.

“We are trying to make necessary requirements that should make a person live wiser at all times” he said and observed that men fail to patronize gatherings, saying that men often miss good knowledge that can prevent stress and expressed concern over low patronage of men in most church gatherings that offer spiritual support.

A resident from Bangwe Township, Blessings Moyo who attended the Men’s Legacy Conference, commended Fountain of Victory Church’s Men’s Ministry for organizing the gathering saying this was timely done considering rising cases of suicide among men in the country.

“This was something powerful as it tackled critical topics that will help most of us to live better,” he added.

Men’s Legacy Conference came at a time when suicide cases in the first half of 2024 indicated a rise in male suicide case such that out of 281 suicide cases, 246 are male while 35 are female, according to Malawi Police Service.

The Conference discussed topics such as; retirement and personal financial management presented by Chief Executive Officer for Malawi Stock Exchange, John Robson Kamanga and mining business opportunities by Group Chairperson of Akatswiri Holding Limited, Hilton E. Banda.

Men from other churches such as Living Waters, Roman Catholic, Church of Christ and Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP) attended the Men’s Legacy Conference.

Ministry of Health’s Suicide Prevention Implementation Framework, dated January 2023 stated that suicide is a serious global public health problem with multifaceted causes yet preventable with suicide prevention interventions

The 44-page document signed by former Secretary for Health Dr. Charles Mwansambo highlighted areas such as global suicide burden, Malawi situation analysis, challenges in addressing suicide in Malawi and government’s response to address the challenges.