Mental Health Users and Carers Association (MEHUCA) has asked President Peter Mutharika to institute an independent Mental Health Board as required by the law, nearly a year after the Mental Health Act of 2025 came into existence.

Speaking after training journalists in Blantyre, MEHUCA Executive Council Chairperson Simon Thom said the absence of the board is undermining efforts to ensure effective implementation of the Act and protecting the rights of people with mental health conditions.

Thom said MEHUCA organised and funded the meeting to equip journalists, for them, to raise awareness on the new Mental Health 2025 law, which replaced the Mental Treatment Act of 1948.

He said the Act provides for an independent board, which the President is expected to appoint, to oversee its implementation and ensure that the rights of people with mental health conditions are respected and protected.

“Our call to the President and the government is that we want it to put in place that board because it is very essential for the board to start functioning,” said Thom.

He also implored the media to educate the public about the Act, particularly its human rights provisions and penalties for people who violate the rights of those experiencing mental health challenges.

The MEHUCA Executive Council Chairperson added that stigma, discrimination and rejection remain major obstacles to recovery, arguing that people who receive proper treatment should be accepted back into their communities and given opportunities to support their families and contribute to society.

“Once these people are discriminated against, it becomes difficult for them to recover. But when the community takes them on board, it becomes easier and it helps them to recover easily. So love makes them feel that they are part of the community,” he stressed.

FEDOMA Executive Director Simon Munde said the 2025 Act marked a shift from viewing mental health issues purely from a medical perspective to recognizing them through a human rights approach.

Munde said it is worrisome that people who experience mental health conditions end up living on the streets after their own families reject them, exposing them to conditions that further worsen their situations.

The FEDOMA ED then urged families and communities to respect the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities, including their rights to education, employment and healthcare, saying they can also contribute to the country’s social and economic development when given proper support.