Maseru – For years, 42-year-old Lekhetho Khama struggled with mental health challenges, navigating a journey marked by uncertainty, stigma, and recovery. Today, he shares his story openly, transforming personal experience into a source of hope for others. By speaking out, he is helping to challenge misconceptions about mental health and encouraging those in need to seek support.
His message resonates with Malehlohonolo Makama, a mother who survived depression and now advocates for greater inclusion of people with lived experience in decisions that affect their lives.
“Nothing about us without us,” she says, emphasizing that people living with mental health conditions should be active partners in shaping policies, services, and programmes designed to support them.
Their voices were at the centre of Lesotho’s commemoration of World Mental Health Day, held by the Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organization (WHO). The event brought together government leaders, health professionals, development partners, civil society organizations, and community members to call for stronger action to improve mental health services and ensure safer, more people-centred care for all.
This year’s World Mental Health Day theme, “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change,” highlights the importance of listening to people living with mental health conditions and ensuring that their experiences help shape the policies, services, and decisions that affect their lives. The theme resonated strongly throughout the commemoration, where speakers emphasized that meaningful progress in mental health depends on placing people and their experiences at the heart of health systems.
Speaking at the event, Minister of Health Hon. Mamokete Ntšekhe emphasized the importance of dignity, inclusion, and compassion in mental health care. She noted that mental health is an essential part of overall health and well-being and urged all stakeholders to work together to eliminate the stigma and discrimination that continue to prevent many individuals from seeking support. The Minister further called for greater access to psychological services, increased community awareness, safer working environments for health workers, and stronger efforts to ensure that people with lived experience are recognized as partners in strengthening mental health services.
The commemoration also highlighted the growing burden of mental health conditions globally and across Africa.
Addressing participants, Dr Sirak Hailu Bantiewalu, Public Health Officer at WHO Lesotho, noted that nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide live with a mental health condition, while close to 150 million people in Africa are affected by mental, neurological, or substance use disorders. He stressed that despite increasing awareness, stigma, limited access to services, and inadequate investment in mental health continue to leave many people without the care they need.
Dr Sirak noted that listening to people with lived experience is essential for designing responsive and effective mental health services. He noted that mental health and patient safety are closely linked, and that quality care must be safe, respectful, and centred on the needs and rights of individuals and communities.
With nearly one in seven people globally living with a mental health condition, stakeholders agreed that improving mental health outcomes requires collective action from governments, communities, health professionals, development partners, civil society organizations, and people with lived experience themselves.
The commemoration concluded with a renewed call for sustained efforts to promote mental health awareness, challenge stigma, strengthen patient safety, and ensure that people living with mental health conditions have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their lives.
WHO reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Government of Lesotho and partners in advancing accessible, rights-based, and people-centred mental health care for all, including technical support for policy implementation and efforts to strengthen mental health services nationwide.
