In the third event of the webinar series, ‘Global Psychiatry: A LAMIC Perspective”, Leslie Marneau from France spoke on “Impact of COVID-19 on professional continued education and intervention in the field of autism”. Pomi Baruah delivered the opening remarks in the event, moderated by Bornali Das, the Secretary of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL). It is an initiative of SoMHiL, as part of MONON: Assam Cares (https://www.ojpas.com/ojpas-2020-07-27-fulltext.html), in collaboration with ECHO India.

Dr. Bornali Das, Secretary of Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) was invited to preside over the observation of World Alzheimer’s day on 21st September organised by Life Line Care Home.

Partha Choudhury, Consultant Psychiatrist General Adults, Lancashire care NHS Foundation Trust, UK was the resource person in today’s session of ‘Global Psychiatry: A LAMIC Perspective’ with expert comments from RK Lenin Singh, Professor & Head, Department of Psychiatry, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur, India and Advisory Board Member of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®). Mythili Hazarika and Bornali Das, the President and the Secretary of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) respectively along with Shyamanta Das, the Editor-in-Chief of OJPAS® were the moderators of the event hosted by Papori Goswami of ECHO India.

Today’s webinar in the series, titled “Global Psychiatry: A LAMIC Perspective” has been postponed to next Friday, 18 September 2020 (6-7:30 pm IST). Ivana Stasevic Karlicic from Serbia will be speaking on “Perspectives of Mental Health Services During COVID-19 Epidemic in the Republic of Serbia”. It is an initiative of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL), as part of MONON Assam Cares (https://www.ojpas.com/ojpas-2020-07-27-fulltext.html), in collaboration with ECHO India. The link to the webinar is: https://spark.echoindia.in/jr/sess_H4HVWv-SIg/

The Department of Education, Government of Assam, India supported the initiative of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) in collaboration with ECHO India in hosting the event, “Is life a race?” on the World Suicide Prevention Day. Managing Editor of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®), Utpal Bora, MD was one of the speakers in this event that was moderated by Mythili Hazarika, PhD, the President of SoMHiL. A recitation competition was also arranged with the theme of ‘Life’, facilitated by Nilofar Rahman and Papori Goswami, and judge, Srutimala Duara declared the results. Nilofar also facilitated the panel discussion.

Mythili Hazarika, the President of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) and the Editor-in-Chief of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®) are speaking on the occasion of the World Suicide Prevention Day in Jagaran News.

Secretary of Society of Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL), Dr. Bornali Das was invited to speak on a Facebook Live session for the World Suicide Prevention Day on 10th September organised by Manauta.

Project MANAUTA is a humble initiation by a group of young enthusiasts from Darjeeling hills. This project was conceived to cater to mental health issues, provide support and encourage wellbeing amidst the COVID 19 pandemic. While the physical health is vulnerable, the fear of getting infected coupled with restricted social movement has taken a toll on mental health as well. Darjeeling hills, synonimical for its tea and tourism is highly
depends on revenue generated by tourists and tea export, however with the lockdown brought in by the pandemic both the industries are facing a stalemate, severely effecting the livelihood of it residents.

With no general health care support let alone any mental health care facility in Darjeeling, the need for mental health care support rose exponentially during such times and had to be addressed during such times. Thus, keeping in mind the need of hour, this project was
formulated with help of professional social workers, mental health counsellors and medical professionals. Finally the fuel to run this project was provided by Edwards Foundation who generously funded the project.

Project MANAUTA is dedicates itself to provide free Tele-counselling and Tele-medicine services across Darjeeling hills. But it does not limit to just these two services, various workshops and tailored IEC materials has been a crucial in addressing mental health stigmas and distress among the public and frontline workers. With rising cases of COVID 19 and the uncertainty laced with it, the need for such initiation is more than ever. As addressing the wellbeing and cater positive mental health can be a catalyst in recovery of the patients and the wellbeing of the community.

The Department of Education, Government of Assam, India is supporting the initiative of the Society for Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL) in collaboration with ECHO India in hosting an event on Thursday, 10 September 2020 which is the World Suicide Prevention Day. Managing Editor of the Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences (OJPAS®), Utpal Bora, MD will be one of the speakers in this event, “Is life a race?” that will be moderated by Mythili Hazarika, PhD, the President of SoMHiL. A recitation competition was also arranged with the theme of ‘Life’, facilitated by Nilofar Rahman and Papori Goswami, and judge, Srutimala Duara will be declaring the results on this day. The link to the session is https://spark.echoindia.in/jr/sess_x-MZr9StDw/