Mental health needs more attention to save lives

The echoes of a new year have barely faded, yet Tanzania finds itself gripped by a chilling reality. In the gold-rich lands of Geita, a child's cries became a death knell, silenced forever by the hand of its father.

This heart-wrenching tragedy is not an isolated incident. It is a stark reminder of the pervasive darkness that shadows our communities, where the intertwined demons of child abuse and mental health continue to claim innocent lives.

While awareness campaigns and calls for vigilance have rung loud for years, they seem to echo emptily in the face of repeated horrors. Why, then, do these shadows linger? The answer lies not in a single misstep, but in a tangled web of interwoven threads.

 Poverty casts a long shadow, its grip leaving many without access to education or the resources to break free from cycles of despair. Cultural norms, deeply ingrained and often resistant to change, can normalise violence, mistaking discipline for brutality.

Superstitious beliefs, whispering venomous promises of fortune and success through cruel acts, can lure the desperate into unspeakable deeds.

Layered upon these societal ills is the insidious burden of unaddressed mental health. Individuals left to battle their demons alone, drowning in the depths of depression, anxiety, or trauma, may see only darkness where hope should reside.

These internal storms can manifest in unimaginable ways, leaving devastating scars on the lives of both the afflicted and those around them.

The burden of this neglect falls heaviest on the shoulders of rural communities, where access to proper care is often a distant dream.

Women and children, particularly vulnerable and voiceless, become easy targets in this silent epidemic.

But despair cannot be allowed to hold dominion. The time for hollow pronouncements and mere awareness campaigns is over.

We must rise to meet this challenge with a concerted, multifaceted approach that illuminates the shadows and shines a light on the path towards a brighter future.

The life of the child silenced in Geita cries out for action. We owe it to them, to ourselves and to our nation to break free from these shadows. Let us work together, hand in hand, to build a Tanzania where every child is safe, every woman is respected, and every individual has access to the support they need to heal and thrive.

Only then can we truly say that dawn has broken over this land, dispelling the darkness and ushering in a brighter future for all.