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{
    "id": 1460346,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1460346/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 242,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Luanda, DAP-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Dick Maungu",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "will result in mental distress. We live in a country that has a lot of social disadvantages. Poverty and deaths lead to extreme mental distress. Bereavement like losing a loved one, a close friend or a dear member of family has severe damage to the well-being of our state of mind. Therefore, it brings mental distress. We live in a situation where people are exposed to long and severe stress. All these conditions result in mental stress. Therefore, Hon. Mishi thought it was important to mainstream mental healthcare in our medical facilities all the way down to the ward dispensaries so that our people can access and enjoy mental healthcare services in early stages. Nowadays we have cases of religious extremism where people are indoctrinated to a point of agreeing to give their lives, or taking their lives. That is some form of mental distress. A good example is the Shakahola massacre. The people who were taken advantage of were not in their right form of thinking. Maybe, they were exposed to some severe conditions that made them unable to make independent and sober decisions. Therefore, mental health is such an important concept that we cannot neglect. The Member came up with this Motion to help us see if we can entrench mental healthcare in our local medical facilities. We are aware that as a result of lack of jobs, we have a very big young population below 35 years old. These are people who went to school. Some of them cleared university with very good degrees but they cannot secure any form of employment. This exposes them to drugs and substance abuse, which causes a lot of damage to their mental health. It is an important discussion because it cuts across the unemployed and employed. We have just seen a situation where teachers are equally stressed because they have a lot of workload. They are unable to articulate or speak or teach well because they are stressed. We have police officers who take care of our security. Some of the actions that some officers take – like shooting indiscriminately, hanging themselves and fighting among themselves – are a result of some form of mental distress."
}