Written by Aymara Social Enterprise

The theme for this year’s World Health Day, celebrated on 7 April, was ‘Health for All’. In recognition of this day, Aymara Social Enterprise delivered a workshop on HIV and Mental Health, under the sponsorship of Gilead. We are very grateful to Latin American Disabled People’s Project for hosting the event, supporting our mission and making our partnership stronger, and for giving meaning and value to the word ‘collaboration’.

Aymara’s workshops always include a guest speaker to complement and reinforce messages on good sexual health, safety, wellbeing and happiness. Workshops on HIV awareness and prevention and PrEP promotion are focused on protection, not risk. Aymara’s approach is based on asking people how confident they feel in maintaining their HIV status, whether positive or negative, rather than how at risk they feel.

Opening and welcoming remarks included an overview of health inequalities and what is currently being done to remove barriers to healthcare. The session, with an audience of over 30 people, started with a sexual health presentation by Carlos Corredor, outlining key knowledge of HIV and STIs. Dr Zurima Toloza, Psychiatrist at St Charles Hospital in London, then talked about physical health inequalities, the psychological implications of chronic illnesses, methods to reduce stress and anxiety, therapies and treatments for better mental health, types of interventions for severe mental illness, and how to deal with relapse after stopping medication or while using drugs and alcohol. The Q&A part was intense and demonstrated concerns from the audience around the learning process to love oneself more. Other topics raised were the effects of stigma and self-stigma on one’s mental health, the need for regular support checks while dealing with mental suffering, how to differentiate between anxiety and depression, where to find others who share the same experience, natural substances for easing anxiety, and where to find free personalised expert advice.

Zurima kindly shared her contact details with some attendants to book appointments with her. For community members who do not speak fluent English, and have mental health concerns, receiving insights and advice from an expert in their own language is a great experience. The evaluation of the session was performed by asking every attendee what they took with them from the session, how useful the information provided was, and what they will now do differently. After the workshop, there was a space for social dialogue and an opportunity to ask Zurima and Carlos any questions.

Aymara works under two premises, (i) the need for universal health, by ensuring easy access to free promotive, preventive and curative quality health services, taking into account the cultural aspects and idiosyncrasies of each individual, and (ii) the need for an integrated care system, a person centred model that supports individuals with all aspects of their health and wellbeing. Aymara’s system uses healthcare as an enabler to access the rest of public and community services.

This year, 7 April marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organisation. This awareness day is an opportunity to motivate action to tackle health challenges. Aymara, with this event, has contributed with a grain of sand to meet the WHO’s aims and advocate for Health for All.