- Airtel Lanka and NIMH expand SL’s first text-based helpline to WhatsApp
By Venessa Anthony
Airtel Lanka, in partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), announced a major expansion of the 1926 Mental Health Helpline to now include a dedicated WhatsApp service.
The recent lockdowns and the increased isolation that it caused have led to an increase in mental health issues, hence the need for a chat-based solution. Text messaging is of course a great solution, especially for young people who tend to be more comfortable texting instead of speaking, especially when starting a conversation, so this collaborative initiative is quite timely and welcome.
Since going live on World Mental Health Day 2020, the text-based service alone has helped to initiate over 100 life-saving interventions, in addition to providing support, comfort, and guidance to many individuals facing challenges with their mental health. The expansion of the service, easily accessible for all Airtel users, and everyone on any mobile network is as a result of the significant success of the Airtel-NIMH 1926 text-based helpline.
Speaking at the launch of the WhatsApp helpline was Airtel Sri Lanka Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashish Chandra, who opened the floor stating that Airtel is proud to continue supporting the incredible work being done by the team at NIMH and hopes that the expansion of the 1926 service to WhatsApp will encourage even more Sri Lankans to reach out, knowing that there is always someone there to listen.
He noted that Airtel’s decision to expand the service to WhatsApp was a direct response to young users of the text-based service themselves who tend to show a clear preference for data over voice or text.
“The additional functionality enabled by the app could also open up new possibilities for the e-service, potentially including video-calls, sharing of prescriptions, and voice notes,” he added.
Chandra also highlighted that two-thirds of the global population never come out and ask for mental help, which leads to catastrophic results where the suicide rate across the world is going up.
“In Sri Lanka, over 3,000 people die by suicide every year, and what we have realised in the last few days is that this problem is increasingly more with the young people. The youth is struggling; that’s not to say people who are in the other age groups are not. But it is increasingly more prevalent in the younger section of society,” he said.
Sharing their intentions for the latest expansion of the 1926 service, Airtel hopes to reiterate the need for an open and understanding culture around mental health that encourages more young people to reach out to professionals.
“This is particularly important when they are experiencing times of crisis and may benefit from guidance on their mental health concerns in a safe and anonymous environment,” Chandra highlighted, adding that ultimately whether you or someone you know is going through a crisis, or just feel like you need a little support, the ability to easily reach out can make all the difference.
“We hope that by creating the spaces for these conversations to take place, we can help be a part of that change,” he stated.
The 1926 Mental Health Call Line and SMS Line continues to be free for all Airtel users. In pursuit of their goal to significantly decrease the number of suicides in our country, Airtel announced that it would also be committing itself to raising awareness on mental health and all of the available NIMH 1926 helplines across its entire user base, leveraging Airtel’s social media platforms, and the My Airtel App.
Anyone in need of mental health assistance can now reach the NIMH Mental Health Helpline via WhatsApp on 075 555 1926.