‘Education campaigns to tackle Jordan’s suicide crisis greatly needed’

AMMAN — The efforts of a group of Jordanians dedicated to raising awareness of mental health issues in the Kingdom were recently acknowledged at a global conference, where the director of Jordan Chapter of Life in My Days (LIMD), a non-profit aimed at promoting conversations around mental health, disabilities, abuse, trauma and social justice, was honoured.

Ala Abojaradeh, who leads the Jordan LIMD with her brother Ahmad Abojaradeh, represented the Jordan Chapter at the International Muslim Mental Health Conference in Malaysia, where she acquainted a public of health care providers, faith leaders and researchers from the Asian region with LIMD’s work in the field of mental health.

“As one of the youngest people in the conference, surrounded by amazing people from all around the world who have done great work for mental health, I am so honoured to have been rewarded for our work; I couldn’t be more humbled,” the fifth year medical student told The Jordan Times.

Abojaradeh received two medals, including one for her co-research with her brother, Doctor Isam Bsisu and nursing psychology Masters graduate and lecturer at the University of Jordan Jumana Shehadeh, which focused on the effect of community-based mental health education programmes on the awareness levels of university and school students.

“Recent studies have shown that Jordan has one of the highest suicide rates in the Middle East, especially within the high school and college aged populations,” stated Abojaradeh, stressing “over the last year, our team of primarily college students have taken the lead to start the difficult conversation about mental health in Jordan to counter this trend.”

Since its establishment in March 2017, Jordan LIMD has successfully held two dozen events which reached close to 10,000 individuals in universities, schools, and the general public, Abojaradeh said.

However, the Jordan LIMD director pointed to the lack of educational campaigns catering for the specific needs of each audience affected by mental health issues, and to the discrepancy between the existing campaigns and the realities of their target audiences.

Abojaradeh noted that various institutions, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), have recommended directing education campaigns to the general public to develop awareness of suicidal crises and improve awareness about depression. 

“Despite a greater demand for mental health services and support in the Jordanian society, the stigma surrounding mental illness makes it almost impossible for individuals to seek treatment at the onset of their disease,” the 22-year-old claimed, stressing that “mental health is a topic that is hidden in our society, and the time has come to start talking”.

According to WHO, one in four individuals (over 450 million people) will suffer from a mental illness at some point in their life. However, two thirds of them will not seek help due to lack of awareness and lack of resources.

“Suicide is a prominent public health issue and its prevention is a global priority,” Ahmad Abojaradeh stressed, citing the result of a national cross-sectional study which showed that 66 per cent of the Jordanian youth population frequently experienced feelings of sadness, 49 per cent felt loss of joy and 43 per cent felt loss of hope in living.