Government has emphasized the need to develop new strategies in order to address mental health challenges in workplaces.

Chief Director in the Ministry of Health Beston Chisale, said this during the World Mental Health Day commemoration in Zomba district.

“Government already has policies in place to make the environment conducive in the workplaces but what is needed is just to develop appropriate strategies to enforce these strategies,” he said.

Chisale said workers who are mentally depressed due to working conditions do not deliver.

In her remarks, the Director of Mental Health Services in the ministry, Emaculate Chamangwana, said the country has a lot of mentally challenged people but their cases are not recognized.

“In work places 10% of employees experience mental challenges but they are not recognized. If we do the analysis we can find that this figure is very high and this is a big challenge to our country,” said Chamangwana who is also the director of Zomba Mental Hospital.

This year’s commemoration ceremony was characterized by a solidarity march from Zomba mental hospital to Gymkana ground and was held under the theme; “mental health in the workplace.