The state department of public service has raised concerns over the surging cases of depression and other mental health challenges among civil servants.
The public service principal secretary Amos Gathecha revealed that the number of public servants suffering from mental illnesses has tripled from 5,000 yearly to 13,000 over the last one year.
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The PS blamed the prevailing harsh financial and tough economic times for the increase in cases of government employees seeking psychosocial counselling.
“We have realized that since Covid came, more officers are getting stressed at work and the need for psychological counselling has been felt,” PS Gathecha stated.
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Moreover, the PS said uniformed officers are the most affected with cases of suicide becoming more rampant especially with the National Police and Prison departments.
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“Before Covid, we would see like 5,000 officers going for counselling but since then, the numbers have grown, we are now talking about 13,000 per annum,” he added.
Efforts to Curb depression Among Public Servants
The public service PS noted that the government is ramping up mental health and advocacy campaigns to enhance awareness about mental health challenges.
Likewise, the government announced plans to hire more counsellors for all government ministries to stem the rising cases of depression among civil servants.
According to Gathecha, the rising numbers of absenteeism among government employees has been affecting the delivery of services to citizens.
While addressing the press at Lake Naivasha resort on Monday, September 18, Gathecha attributed this issue to depression and alcohol use.
“The harsh economic times, coupled with low wages and rising demands within family circles, have contributed to the mental health crisis, with some officers turning to alcoholism,” he said.
Furthermore, the PS revealed that the government is actively implementing a range of preventive and promotional measures to address mental health and improve the well-being of public servants.
It also emerged that mental health challenges are affecting productivity within the public service.
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According to the Kenya Mental Health Investment Case, and the country lost Ksh62.2B due to mental health conditions.
In addition, PS Gathecha that in noted that in the last financial year, the government provided psycho-education support to over 12,500 civil servants amid an increase in demand for the services.
Similarly, Grace Wanjiku, a director in the state department admitted that mental health is a challenge within government ministries which requires urgent action.
She said only 7 government ministries out of the 22 had counselors despite the rising demand for counseling services.
