Sarawak has experienced a 39 per cent surge in individuals seeking help for mental health issues, rising from 41,920 in 2019 to 58,207 in 2022, says Dalat assemblywoman Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
The Ministry of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development attributes this increase in cases partly to robust mental health screening and prevention activities during outreach programmes, including Randau Pembangunan Sosial in rural areas, Randau Solidariti Komuniti in suburban areas, Community Mental Health Literacy, and Mental Health Awareness Courses across all administrative divisions in Sarawak.
A total of 94 programmes have been conducted since 2016.
“As of October 2023, Sarawak has 822 primary and secondary school counselors, 62 organisational psychology officers in state and federal agencies, 13 counselors and psychology officers at the Social Welfare Department Sarawak (JKMS), and 45 psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and psychology officers in government hospitals and clinics to support mental health screening, intervention referrals, and services,” Fatimah, who is Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, stated.
Emphasising the ministry’s achievements, she highlighted the positive trajectory toward promoting strong family wellbeing.
“Sarawak achieved a 10 per cent increase in the Indeks Kesejahteraan Keluarga Malaysia between 2016 (scoring 7.09 out of 10) and 2019 (scoring 7.78). In fact, we achieved a high index on the Family Relationship Domain, with a score of 8.44 in 2019 compared to 7.65 in 2016.”
As part of PCDS 2030, she mentioned that a key performance indicator (KPI) is to achieve a social wellbeing index score of 8.0 and above on the Sarawak Social Wellbeing Index (SSWI) by 2030.
“The parameters of the index are based on the State Social Transformation Framework, consisting of 10 pillars, 25 social domains, and 79 sub-domains.
“Our ministry is currently conducting SSWI 2023, covering all 45 districts in collaboration with a consortium of three local universities, led by Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, and will be completed in March 2024,” she noted.
