World Mental Health Day 2020: The Live Love Laugh Foundation Announces ‘Investing in Hope’ Campaign

The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF), a charitable trust set up in 2015, has launched “Investing in Hope,” a campaign to mark World Mental Health Day which is being observed today. The campaign is in line with the World Federation for Mental Health & WHO theme for this year: Mental Health for All: Greater Investment – Greater Access.

TLLLF’s programmes and initiatives are focussed specifically on giving hope to those people experiencing Stress, Anxiety, and Depression (SAD). With Investing in Hope, TLLLF aims to create nuanced awareness about India’s mental health crisis while contributing to the creation of a mental health investment roadmap in the country.

The first phase of the campaign features a series of video conversations with leading voices on mental health, conducted and curated by Kaveree Bamzai, author, columnist, and the former editor of India Today.

Featured guests include Deval Sanghvi, Partner and co-founder, Dasra, Anna Chandy, Chairperson, TLLLF, TLLLF Trustees Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon & Ananth Narayanan, Co-founder and CEO, and Dr Vikram Patel, Co-Founder, Sangath and Professor of Global Heath at the Harvard Medical School.

Anisha Padukone, CEO, TLLLF, said, “The recent pandemic has had a substantial impact on the economy, livelihoods, healthcare, mental health ecosystem, and on the country at large. It is time that we not only elevate mental health in the list of priorities but also sharpen our focus with a clear roadmap. With Investing in Hope, our aim is to identify the most pressing mental health issues in India through conversations with experts and find ways to address them.”

Over the course of October 2020, the conversations will cover India’s mental health landscape, funding models for mental health, impact measurement, and the role of individual stakeholders in driving systemic change.

Anna Chandy, Chairperson, TLLLF, drew attention to the crippling effects of mental health stigmatisation, stating, “While mental health issues have always been a concern in India, the pandemic has drawn them into sharp focus. We cannot expect progress when the sector is rife with misinformation while combating a broad range of challenges including stigma, scarcity of resources, and no clear pathway to improvement. Our aim with Investing in Hope is to create conversations that offer nuanced awareness and stimulate discussions about a sustainable and effective pathway to better mental health in the country.”

In India, mental health, although improved, continues to fall behind on the list of priorities. Nearly 200 million Indians are affected by mental disorders according to The Lancet, which means we are currently facing not one pandemic, but two. With recent events having a deep effect on the economy, healthcare, the mental health system, and the country as a whole, we are in dire need of optimism and direction now more than ever before.

As part of the campaign, TLLLF will also profile select NGOs operating in the mental health domain, highlight journeys of TLLLF donors, and analyse case studies of successful mental health interventions. Although a mammoth challenge, revitalising India’s mental health sector needs a concerted push and TLLLF believes that by using its platform to amplify the voices that matter, “Investing in Hope” will help build a foundation for a more robust mental health ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content