MENTAL HEALTH. Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy (left) signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Wang Shu-Hui, representative of the Taiwan-based International Mental Health Cooperation and Training Center (IMHCTC) on Monday (June 26, 2023). The local government and IMHCTC agreed to strengthen training on mental health concerns. (Photo courtesy of Mayor Uy Facebook Page)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The local government here on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a Taiwan-based institution to strengthen its capacity in addressing mental health concerns.
Mayor Rolando Uy led the signing of MOU with the International Mental Health Cooperation and Training Center, Taiwan (IMHCTC), which he said was a good initiative that will benefit both institutions.
"The knowledge exchange and the research activities will improve the capacities of both our institutions in addressing the mental health challenges from the simplest forms of stress and depression to more serious psychiatric cases, of our constituents," Uy told IMHCTC representative Wang Shu-Hui.
Uy said the rise of mental health problems is not unique to the city but also prevalent in many Asian countries.
In other parts of the world, Uy noted the reported incidents of mass shootings and other violent anti-social behaviors.
"But if and when (mental health issues are) unaddressed, these may create or result in bigger economic, social, and governmental problems," he said.
IMHCTC is an institution under the authority of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan.
According to its profile, the center is composed of six psychiatric hospitals and one university in Taiwan. (PNA)
