A frontline Europe base Ngo AFRIKINDNESS, held its first worldwide live panel discussion .

AFRIKINDNESS, A Europe base Ngo , has recently held its first live worldwide panel discussion on Tackling the mental health challenges & crisis of a black child across continents.

The powerful worldwide event which has speakers & professionals on its panel came up on vital challenges and remedies on various issues concerning children & young adults around the continents.

The discussion was filled with great advice from our expert panel guest speakers among which are
1) Identitying crisis in children, the danger, and what parents should do.
2) Statistics of mental health and the risk factors affecting children.
3) Lagos State Government response lifeline (What is Lagos state Government doing among challenges been faced by children and young adults in the state
4) Parents ignorance and the impact of cultural beliefs, traditions, etc on our children. .
The role of educators and teachers in identifying & supporting black children in schools.
5) Boys and mental health issues.
6) Solutions and recommendations to parents and teachers of this generation.

Addresing the Afrikindness worldwide live event , Kwabena Kusi-Mensah, Senior Specialist psychiatrist CAMH professional Phd, University of Cambridge emphasized that Africa have major burden of mental health illness contrary to previously held conceptions that mental illness is something foreign and predominant only in the western world.

She Said recent statistics have shown that we have comparable prevalence data to worldwide figures of child and adolescent mental health disorders, lamenting that current prevalence in Nigeria and Ghana (mental health reports within the last 12 months) is around 18-20% while life time prevalence indicates 30-40% diagnosable mental health illness. Unfortunately she said, there are still more unrecognized mental illness in Africa.

In her on contribution, Prof Mrs Olayinka Olusola Omigbodun opined that mental health is a positive word. It is the capacity to achieve and maintain optimum psychological functioning & well being. It relates to a child having that sense of identity and self-worth , sound family & peer relations and the ability to be productive and learn.

For children in diaspora, Pro. Omignodun said what we need to look at is how we can promote their mental health, programs in schools in Uk which can also promote the mental health of a black child.

Looking at the spectrum of mental health from prevention to care & treatment, then to recovery, It’s important to look at preventing our children from having mental disorders. Looking at risk factors and having programs that can help prevent those risk factors like traumatic experiences, abuse etc in children.

Among remedies mentioned was the need to consider how assessible is care and treatment for black children with mental disorders in Uk & Africa. And also to look at what is in place in terms of recovery to help the black child, once these key areas are addressed, then a black child will thrive in any environment according to
Prof Mrs Olayinka Olusola Omigbodun.

Afrikindness, A frontline Europe base Ngo is a pioneering non-profit association founded Bunmi Owolabi in 2021 out of the desire to foster more awareness of Kindness among (albeit not exclusively) children and young people of BAME (black & minority ethnic). Our sole purpose is to advocate for kindness.
We are focused on inspiring, educating, and empowering children and young adults to be kind to themselves (mental health), kind to others, kind to the environment, and kind to Africa. We also advocate for kindness. At the core of our founding vision is the passion to create a world where every child can transform their community and make a global difference through Kindness.