Gilgit, June 3, 2022: Young public health professionals and social activists from Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan have called a Youth Grand Jirga on mental health on June 19, 2022, in district headquarters Ghakuch.
Initiated by Immune Commune Research and Development (ICRD), the jirga will deliberate on increasing suicide cases and their prevention in Ghizer.
Ibex Times talked to the Chief organizer, Mental Health Jirga, Anayat Baigh who is also the director of IRCD to know about the purpose of this mega gathering of Ghizer youth. According to Anayat Baigh, the jirga is aimed at:
1. sensitizing the community at large to create a youth-led parallel intervention approach with the collaboration of all stakeholders;
2. developing a “people’s charter of mental health” through consensus to influence the concerned authorities and government for their support to a youth-led initiative in connection with mental health issues;
3. bringing youth on one page for taking required measures aimed at mitigating and preventing suicide cases in the district;
4. working out a fundraising mechanism to conduct participatory research on finding the spectrum of causes of suicides.
According to a BBC report of 2009, the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan has the highest number of reported suicide cases across GB and Pakistan. The Gilgit-Baltistan assembly held a special session on this public health emergency during the tenure of PMLN, which was never followed up.
According to the organizers of the jirga, the young generation is extremely frustrated and disappointed with the indifferent behavior of the successive governments and other stakeholders. Consequently, they are creating a parallel to sensitize the community on mental health in collaboration with all stakeholders.
According to Ihtisham Khan, an organizer of the Grand Jirga, the increasing trend of suicide cases in Ghizer is a failure of social institutions esp. the government.
A task force will be formed consisting of experts on mental health and youth activists to take result-oriented steps in connection with the prevention of suicide cases. For this purpose, a strong collaboration will be built with the government, civil society, and community institutions, stated Ihtisham.
