Mental health matters: Doctor Anywhere to help Malaysians take on tough times

Partners with FWD Takaful to provide over 20,000 free consultations for those seeking support

[L-R] Wan Ahmad Najib Wan Ahmad Lotfi, Chief Distribution Officer FWD Takaful, YB Dr Kelvin Yii, Special Adviser to Minister of Health Edward Ling, Country General Manager YB Hannah Yeoh, Minister of Youth and Sports Dr Nurashikin bt Ibrahim, Head, National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health Ministry of Health Edwin Basuki, Chief Financial Officer, Doctor Anywhere

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20, 2023: Concerned with those facing uncertainties amid challenging economic prospects, Doctor Anywhere aims to help over 20,000 Malaysians take on tough times through its free tele-counselling initiative. Digital healthcare platform Doctor Anywhere hopes to encourage more Malaysians to explore the transformative power of accessible and affordable mental health services through its Empowering Minds For The Future initiative, where they can redeem free counselling sessions with expert counsellors and clinical psychologists. Youth and Sports Minister, YB Hannah Yeoh urged all Malaysians, including the youth, to be brave to seek mental health support. She said,

"Our nation's youth are in tune with their wants and needs, and when they express the problems they are facing, we should know that it is not enough to provide them with one-off support. Therefore, the Ministry for Youth and Sports is dedicated to nurturing their mental health and empowering them with the tools for self-care and resilience, and we support the initiatives of platforms such as Doctor Anywhere to help remove the stigma from the path to mental health recovery. With the cooperation of the public and private sectors, these empowered youth will forge ahead stronger, leading with compassion, innovation, and the determination to create a better future for all"

Doctor Anywhere Malaysia's Country General Manager, Edward Ling said, the company is committed to encouraging Malaysians to seek help, sharing concerns amid some recent reports and statistics on the state of mental health. He said,

"By offering sponsored appointments with expert counsellors and clinical psychologists, we want to remove barriers and encourage more Malaysians to seek the mental support they need. This is a significant milestone as the private sector invests and sponsors the Malaysian public to prioritise their mental well-being. I urge the public to take full advantage of these services, and together, let's foster a mentally stronger and happier nation" Edward said that the higher cost of living has been cited as among some reasons why Malaysians are likely to feel depressed and anxious, particularly among those living in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The sobering reality was first revealed by the *Minister of Health, Dr Zaliha Mustafa during a Parliament session in March after the ministry conducted mental health screenings on 336,900 individuals.

The International Labour Organisation has also released its Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022 report stating that young people were **impacted by the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. It added that the job losses, difficulty to transition the labour market and higher levels of inactivity have led to growing anxiety and mental stress among young people. In a launch event today with partner mental health experts, FWD Takaful, and celebrity guests such as Datuk M. Nasir shared personal experiences to break barriers and stigma on the importance of caring for mental health. Clinical psychologist, Dr Shawn Lee said it is crucial to address and help youth find support for mental health as they seek to enter the workforce and hope to contribute to the economy. He said the ***National Health & Morbidity Survey 2022 revealed there is a growing concern about suicidal tendencies among adolescents with 13.1% expressing suicidal thoughts and 9.5% having attempted compared to 10% and 6.9% in the previous study back in 2017. There is a possibility that youth settling into adulthood are still carrying the burdens of their unresolved mental health issues from adolescent times, he added. FWD Takaful said its objective for the programme is to help Malaysians build resilience by starting with a healthier and stronger mind. They also hope to help more Malaysians overcome the stigma of seeking mental health support. He added,

"At FWD Takaful, we had to do things differently to get Malaysians to be more proactive about their mental health. So, we introduced FWD Mind Strength Support Programme, a first-in-the-market digital health solution designed to enable Malaysians to proactively, privately and positively strengthen their minds,” said Salim Majid Zain, CEO of FWD Takaful. "We collaborated with Doctor Anywhere to introduce this complimentary support programme for people to access the support they need. We also collaborated with top Malaysian personalities who could lead the change to bring this message to the public and motivate Malaysians to strengthen their minds" The path towards better mental health starts with a simple scientifically validated assessment through the Mind Strength website (https://mindstrength.fwd.com.my/). After completing the assessment, users can redeem a voucher code via email. Then, they can download the Doctor Anywhere app to register and log in. Choose ‘Mental Health’ to select a counsellor or clinical psychologist to set an appointment and the session will begin through the app. All calls are end-to-end encrypted to keep user information secure. FWD Takaful is opening this programme up to all Malaysians, without the need to own or participate in an FWD Takaful plan Choose ‘Mental Health’ to select a counsellor or clinical psychologist to set an appointment and the session will begin through the app. All calls are end-to-end encrypted to keep user information secure.

FWD Takaful is opening this programme up to all Malaysians, without the need to own or participate in an FWD Takaful plan. More information is available at www.doctoranywhere.my/fwd-programme The Doctor Anywhere app is available on Google Play and Apple App Store. References

*https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2023/03/08/zaliha-depression-and-anxiety-rates-highest-in-federal-territories/

**https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_853321.pdf (on page 226)

***https://iku.gov.my/images/nhms-2022/1a_Infografic_AHS_BI_15062023.pdf