Building Mental Health Capacity at Higher Education Institutes in Southeast Asia

ongoing

Mental health is an important healMental health is an important health component throughout the lifecycle and forms an integral part of an individual's ability to lead a fulfilling life. On the other hand, poor mental health impedes an individual’s capacity to realize their potential, work productively, and make a contribution to their community. Moreover, as echoed in the 2005 Green paper, mental ill health imposes manifold costs, losses and burdens on citizens and societal systems. Despite the increasing recognition globally of the importance of mental health governance for sustainable development, mental health is still of low priority in Southeast Asia compared to other development priorities. The purpose of our MentalHigh project is to build capacity for mental health in (and through) HEIs in Vietnam and Cambodia with the long-term goal to transform the universities into health-promoting settings that enable students and all staff to thrive and succeed to their best potential. Mental health is central to human development and the results of the MentalHigh project are expected to contribute to the regional priority of governance, peace, security, and human development in Asia. With their many ties to the community and large population, Higher education institutions are predestined organizations to promote positive mental health, de-stigmatize mental health problems, facilitate easy-to access opportunities for enhancing mental health and wellbeing, and act as a resource for mental health in the community. To bring about sustainable change, the project uses a settings-based approach by addressing decision makers, academic staff, support services, and students through various interlocking mental health promotion and prevention interventions. The main output of the MentalHigh project is a digital mental health platform, which provides students with easy access to mental health resources, ehealth, and a pathway to traditional on- and off-campus mental health support.