CGTN Africa description: Faced with the new realities of social isolation & massive job losses, millions of those unable to adapt have faced difficult mental health challenges. Experts & researchers have recorded a spike in psychological problems since the outbreak of COVID-19. The World Health Organization says fear, worry & stress are normal human responses to perceived or real threats such as the coronavirus pandemic, which the world has battled for nearly two years. Experts now warn that the mental health crisis is deepening & could linger on long after the pandemic has been brought under control.
In this 40-minute television interview with Talk Africa, CGTN Africa’s flagship programme, I spoke about our research on the mental health impacts of COVID-19 in community settings in Soweto and among psychiatric healthcare workers in Johannesburg, South Africa. I was honoured to speak alongside two esteemed mental health experts and professionals in Africa – Drs. Baingana and Njenga.
Dr. Florence Baingana, Regional Adviser for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, WHO Regional Office for Africa
Dr. Frank Njenga, Psychiatrist and Mental Health Consultant
Dr. Andrew Wooyoung Kim, Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital & Honorary Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand
Andrew Wooyoung Kim | Anthropologist 