74pc BD expats facing mental stress: Brac

FE REPORT | Published: October 10, 2020 23:01:32

An estimated 74 per cent of the Bangladeshi migrant workers are facing mental stress due to the impact of coronavirus, according to a latest Brac study.
The leading development organisation conducted the study on 558 migrant workers, who returned home from their job destination countries during the pandemic.
Brac shared the findings in a press release on Saturday in observance of 'World Mental Health Day'.
It is imperative to ensure delivery of mental health services to the workers to help them overcome metal stress, the organisation suggested.
The theme for World Mental Health Day 2020 is 'Mental Health for All: Greater Investment-Greater Access'.
Brac has taken a campaigning and counselling programme on the mental health of migrant workers at 12 migration-prone districts on the occasion.
Shariful Islam Hasan, head of BRAC's migration programme, said people usually overlook their mental health.
More specially, he said, the mental health of migrant workers is more ignored in Bangladesh. Therefore, they face so many difficulties in life.
"We talked to the returnees and observed that a majority of them were living in anxiety," he said, adding that they should be given mental health support.
Such a service will help the anxiety-filled workers to turn back, Mr Hasan thinks.
According to the migration expert, Brac has provided mental health services to approximately 2,000 returned workers in the past three years.
Besides, an estimated 3,000 returnees have received tele-counselling service from the organisation during the pandemic period, he cited.
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