World Mental Health Day will be celebrated tomorrow, Friday, October 10, 2025. This year, the theme chosen by the World Health Organization (WHO) is "Access to mental health services during disasters and emergencies." The aim is to highlight the importance of expanding access to mental health care during times of crisis, whether during natural disasters, conflicts, or other emergencies, so that no one is left behind.

At the Dalal Xel Mental Health Center in Thiès, the general director, Brother André Sène, is making special preparations for the celebration of this day. To ensure this event is a great success, he held a caravan this Thursday in the city of Thiès to invite the population to come and take part in this ceremony, which will take place on the center's premises.

Brother Sène announced that this day will be marked by raising awareness against the stigmatization of the mentally ill. "Today, for cultural reasons, the mentally ill are still seen as someone excluded from society. This is not the case. The mentally disabled person is a person who must regain their dignity, because they are sick like any other. Therefore, they must be recognized and treated as such. We must not shun a mentally ill person; we must integrate them so that they can find their place in society. This requires care, and that is what we are doing at Dalal Xel," said Brother Sène.

During this day, a free consultation and awareness-raising activities will be organized in schools, in collaboration with the Thiès academy inspectorate. "We will take this opportunity to speak with the parents of the sick and give them the necessary awareness-raising tools so that they can better care for the mentally ill. Since the sick person spends most of the time with his family, the family must be around him to support him and help him overcome these difficulties," he said.

The director of the Dalal Xel mental health center also reported that his facility lacks support in terms of human resources and funding. "We lack psychiatrists and nurses specialized in psychiatry. This is our most urgent concern, because we treat many patients, between Thiès, Bambey, Mbacké, Louga, and Richard-Toll," he pleaded, while hoping for support from the new government.