BATTICALOA : The Government of Japan and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Sri Lanka handed over the newly revamped and equipped Psychosocial Centre at Kallady, Batticaloa.
This milestone marks a significant step forward in enhancing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services for families, adolescents, and communities in the region.
The handover ceremony was attended by high-level dignitaries, including Ms. J. J. Muraleetharan, District Secretary of Batticaloa, Dr. Muraleesaran, Director of Regional Directorate of Health Services – Batticaloa, Mr. Kunle Adeniyi, UNFPA Sri Lanka Representative, and Jagath Abeysinghe, Senior Vice President of Sri Lanka Red Cross, among others.
This initiative addressed critical mental health needs of women, adolescents and other population in need. The upgraded centre will provide safe, welcoming, and private spaces for counselling, training, and community support programmes for women and girls, youth and vulnerable populations. The renovation, which focused on structural and functional gaps for delivering quality mental health care, was made possible with a total investment of USD 12,198, generously funded by the People of Japan, while Sri Lanka Red Cross provided invaluable support as the implementing partner on the ground. The renovation also saw the provision of furniture and other essential equipment to optimize service delivery.
In meeting the growing needs for mental health services, this upgraded facility will address several key challenges faced by the community in accessing essential support. The renovation has paved the way for upgrading the deteriorated infrastructure to create a safe and conducive environment for both clients and staff, introducing adolescent-friendly spaces and family counselling rooms to meet the needs of diverse clients, and incorporating advanced tools and techniques to improve service delivery and efficiency. The centre is operated by a multidisciplinary team, including, Mental Health Medical Officers, Psychologists, and Social Workers, as well as administrative and support staff, to provide critical services such as family counselling, adolescent mental health support, crisis intervention, and community training programs.
In the past year, the centre has made remarkable strides, such as conducting over 680 counselling sessions for families and adolescents, training more than 200 teachers and 200 adolescents in mental health awareness and psychosocial interventions and referring numerous cases of substance abuse and gender-based violence for specialized care.
Looking ahead, the Psychosocial Centre aims to expand adolescent-focused services with peer support programmes and digital tools, establish a daycare facility to support parents accessing counselling services, deploy a mobile unit to extend services to underserved areas in Batticaloa, and develop a Knowledge Hub to enhance training and share best practices in mental health care.
This initiative underscores the shared commitment of Japan and UNFPA Sri Lanka to prioritize mental health as an integral part of sustainable development and inline with the women, peace and security agenda. Together with local stakeholders, this partnership seeks to empower communities and build resilience, through strengthening their health, wellbeing and safety.
