ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Psychology (NIP), Quaid-i-Azam University, and Polaris Response and Resilience Foundation (PRRF) on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand mental health and psychosocial support services across Pakistan, particularly for returning migrants, potential migrants and disadvantaged communities.
The three-year agreement, signed by NIP Director Prof Dr Rubina Hanif and PRRF Director Programmes andPartnerships Sana Khetran, provides a framework for joint counselling, research, training, awareness campaigns, student placements and innovative project design. It will also support pre-departure orientation and resilience-building programmes for potential migrants, says a press release.
Under the partnership, NIP will provide technicalexpertise andaccesstoits TeleMind mental health application, while PRRF will support programme implementation, community outreachand referrals for online and in-person counselling. The initiative is part of an NIP project supported by Germany’s development agency GIZ.
Speaking at the ceremony, Prof Dr Rubina Hanif said many organisations in Pakistan work on mental health in isolation, stressing the need for collaboration to extend research-based solutions to a wider audience.
Sana Khetran described the MoU as the start of a long-term academia-industry and public-private partnership aimed at developing and implementing projects for sustainable development and a better future for youth and com-munities.
PRRF’s Hassan Raza Malik, Director Polaris Global, also addressed the ceremony. In a message sent for the event, Polaris Group President Sabbah ud Din said the group had worked on mental health as a core thematic area and urged the government to consider its proposals on mental health policy.
The GIZ project team, including Prof Dr Jamil A. Malik and Dr Naeem Aslam, along with other faculty members and doctoral students, attended the ceremony. Others present included Assistant Professor Dr Haleema Sadia, Aatiga Rao andNaurrita Suleman.-Staff Reporter