World Mental Health Day 2026: MIHRE Reaches 21 Women and Girls with Mental Health and Essential Health Services in Uruan LGA

Uruan, Akwa Ibom State | 10 October 2026

Milestone Initiative for Human Rights and Empowerment (MIHRE), with support from Heartland Alliance Ltd/Gte (HALG) through the ViiV Healthcare Positive Action Project, commemorated World Mental Health Day 2026 by conducting a community-based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) session for women and girls who use and inject drugs (WWUIDs) in Uruan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.

Observed globally on 10 October, World Mental Health Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health challenges, promote access to appropriate support, and encourage inclusive approaches to mental well-being. The 2026 theme, “Lived Experience Heard, Real Voices, Real Change,” highlights the importance of listening to people with lived experience and ensuring their voices inform meaningful action.

Promoting Mental Health Awareness and Inclusive Care

The community engagement created an opportunity for participants to discuss mental health, psychosocial well-being, and the challenges they may encounter when seeking healthcare. Discussions explored how stigma, stress, substance use, and unsafe drug-use practices can affect mental and physical well-being.

The session emphasized the importance of compassionate, non-judgmental support and accessible healthcare for women and girls who use drugs. It also reinforced the need to address the barriers that can prevent them from seeking timely mental health and other essential health services.

By taking the engagement directly into the community, MIHRE continued its efforts to promote an environment where women and girls can access information, support, and healthcare services with dignity and without discrimination.

Connecting Participants to Essential Health Services

Beyond awareness creation, the activity facilitated access to essential health and psychosocial services tailored to participants’ needs. These included individualized Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, family planning education and services, HIV testing, and pregnancy testing.

This integrated approach recognizes that mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and overall well-being are interconnected. Ensuring that women who use and inject drugs can access these services is an important step towards reducing barriers to care and promoting their health, dignity, and rights.

Activity Results at a Glance

Through this community-based intervention, MIHRE achieved the following results:

• 21 women and girls reached through community engagement and mental health awareness.

• 14 participants accessed HIV Testing Services.

• 8 participants received individualized Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.

• 4 participants accessed family planning services.

• 4 participants received pregnancy testing.

These results demonstrate the importance of bringing essential health information and services closer to underserved communities, particularly women and girls who may experience stigma and barriers to accessing appropriate care.

Advancing Dignity, Rights, and Mental Well-being

MIHRE recognizes mental health as an essential component of overall health and well-being. Women and girls who use and inject drugs may face multiple and overlapping challenges, including stigma, discrimination, social exclusion, and limited access to appropriate healthcare and psychosocial support.

Addressing these challenges requires inclusive, person-centred approaches that respect individual experiences, protect confidentiality, and connect people to the services they need. It also requires sustained collaboration among community-based organizations, healthcare providers, development partners, and other stakeholders.

Through its community engagement and harm reduction initiatives, MIHRE remains committed to promoting the rights and well-being of women and girls who use drugs, strengthening access to essential services, and advocating for healthcare environments that are safe, supportive, and free from stigma.

As we commemorate World Mental Health Day 2026, MIHRE reaffirms the importance of listening to lived experiences, amplifying the voices of underserved communities, and translating those voices into meaningful action.

Every voice deserves to be heard. Every experience deserves respect. Everyone deserves access to compassionate care.

Together with our partners and communities, we will continue working towards a future where mental health support and essential healthcare are accessible to all, without discrimination.

Implemented by: Milestone Initiative for Human Rights and Empowerment (MIHRE)

With support from: Heartland Alliance Ltd/Gte (HALG) through the ViiV Healthcare Positive Action Project.

#WorldMentalHealthDay2026 #RealVoicesRealChange #MIHRE #HALG #ViiVHealthcare #MentalHealthMatters #MHPSS #HarmReduction #WomenWhoUseDrugs #LeaveNoOneBehind

Women’s Mental Health: A Global Concern

Women’s mental health is an important global health and human rights issue. Across different communities and backgrounds, women may experience mental-health challenges influenced by social, economic, reproductive, and interpersonal factors.

Gender-based violence (GBV), pregnancy and motherhood, financial insecurity, discrimination, social expectations, body-image pressures, reproductive health concerns, and limited access to support can all affect women’s emotional and psychological well-being.

These challenges may contribute to stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and emotional distress. However, many women continue to experience these challenges silently because of stigma, fear of judgment, discrimination, or limited access to appropriate and affordable mental-health services.

Creating Safe Spaces for Women

Promoting women’s mental health requires more than encouraging women to seek help. It requires creating environments where women feel safe to speak openly about their experiences without fear of blame, shame, or discrimination.

Women deserve to be listened to, believed, respected, and supported. Access to compassionate and confidential mental-health care should be available to every woman, regardless of her social or economic circumstances.

Communities, healthcare providers, families, organizations, and policymakers all have a role to play in addressing the barriers that affect women’s mental health. This includes strengthening access to mental-health services, promoting gender-sensitive psychosocial support, addressing GBV and discrimination, and ensuring that women’s voices and lived experiences are included in decisions that affect their well-being.

Listen. Believe. Support.

Women’s mental health is not a private issue—it is a global health concern that requires collective action.

By listening to women, believing their experiences, challenging stigma, and creating supportive spaces, we can help build communities where every woman can seek support and live with dignity.

Listen to women. Believe their experiences. Support their well-being.

💜

#WomensMentalHealth #MentalHealthMatters #GlobalMentalHealth #LivedExperienceHeard #RealVoicesRealChange #BreakTheStigmaTogether #ViiVHealthcare #HALG

World Contraception Day 2026: MIHRE Takes Contraceptive Access Campaign to the Community

Theme: “No Barriers, Just Choices: Contraception Access Now.”

In commemoration of World Contraception Day 2026, Milestone Initiative for Human Rights & Empowerment (MIHRE) took its advocacy and community engagement beyond the office and into the community, promoting access to accurate information, counselling, and quality family planning services.

Guided by the theme “No Barriers, Just Choices: Contraception Access Now,” the community outreach focused on strengthening awareness of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and ensuring that community members have access to the information and support they need to make informed decisions about their reproductive health.

Bringing Contraceptive Information Closer to the Community

Access to accurate and understandable information is an important part of informed reproductive health decision-making. During the outreach, MIHRE engaged directly with individuals, families, and other community members, creating opportunities for open conversations about contraception and family planning.

Participants were able to learn about available contraceptive options, ask questions, clarify concerns, and address common misconceptions surrounding contraception and family planning.

The outreach also emphasized the importance of respectful and confidential services, where individuals can seek information and professional guidance without fear of judgment or discrimination.

Collaboration for Better Community Health

MIHRE was pleased to collaborate with the Ministry of Health through the Akwa Ibom State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (AKSPHCDA) in delivering the community engagement.

The collaboration contributed to the availability of professional guidance, counselling, accurate reproductive health information, and family planning services for community members.

Partnerships between community-based organizations and public health institutions play an important role in bringing health information and services closer to the people who need them.

Removing Barriers to Contraceptive Access

For some individuals and families, barriers to family planning may include limited access to information, misconceptions, concerns about side effects, social stigma, or difficulty accessing appropriate services.

Community-based engagements provide an opportunity to address these concerns directly and connect people with reliable information and appropriate services.

At MIHRE, we believe that access to sexual and reproductive health information and services should be supported by dignity, respect, confidentiality, accurate information, and informed choice.

The World Contraception Day outreach therefore served not only as an awareness activity but also as an opportunity to strengthen conversations around accessible and people-centred family planning services within the community.

A Shared Commitment to Informed Choices

MIHRE sincerely appreciates the Ministry of Health through the Akwa Ibom State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, our partners, service providers, and all community members who participated in the outreach.

Their participation and support contributed to creating a meaningful space for learning, dialogue, and connection to family planning information and services.

As we mark World Contraception Day 2026, we reaffirm our commitment to promoting access to accurate information, quality services, and supportive environments where people can make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

No Barriers. Just Choices. Contraception Access Now 

#WorldContraceptionWorldContraceptionDay2026 #NoBarriersJustChoices #ContraceptionAccessNow #FamilyPlanning #ReproductiveHealth #SRHR #ContraceptiveAccess #MIHRE #HALG #ViiVHealthcare