Australia Awards Vanuatu alumnus, Dr. Jimmy Obed, plays a critical role within the mental health landscape throughout the Pacific and in April, 2024, he was panellist at an event hosted by the Australian Awards Women Leading and Influencing (WLI) initiative, titled Mental Health and Culture in the Pacific. As the stigma around mental health dissolves, discussions surrounding this topic are on the rise alongside opportunities for mental health advocates to collaborate and navigate a new way forward.
As Vanuatu’s first ni-Vanuatu psychiatrist and Head of Mental Health at Vila Central Hospital, Dr. Jimmy was one of the Pacific Australia Awards scholars, alumni and colleagues invested in mental health in the region invited to participate in this event. The purpose was to explore the role of culture in shaping perceptions of and responses to mental health within Pacific Island societies. Featuring Pacific experts working in mental health research, medical response, and community service fields, the panel discussion was followed by an interactive audience Q&A and small group break-out discussions.
WLI is an Australian Government initiative developing the skills, confidence, and connections of leaders to drive positive change in the Pacific region. WLI offers a range of developmental leadership offerings to Pacific scholars studying at Australian universities and institutions. The program builds on the preceding Women’s Leadership Initiative Pilot (2017–2022) to enhance support for WLI alumni returning home, and the role of men supporting women as change agents.
The panel for this event included Nisha Khan (Fiji), Founder and Coordinator of Building Innate Resilience Through Hearts (BIRTH) Fiji, Pele Melepia (PNG), Public Health Researcher at the Burnet Institute experienced in child and adolescent mental health, Dr Jimmy Obed (Vanuatu), Vanuatu’s first ni-Vanuatu psychiatrist and Head of Mental Health at Vila Central Hospital, and Connie Batiwale (Moderator), Fijian mental health and wellbeing advocate and WLI Alumna.
Topics covered were varied and included the current state of mental health in the Pacific, how culture intersects with mental health in the Pacific, priorities and actions to address mental health and additional challenges and opportunities to consider in mental health approaches. One particular priority was the idea of a merging between Western and Pacific / traditional medical interventions and processes, to re-evaluate Pacific models of health and restore autonomy and confidentiality to mental health patients and clients in ways that embrace culture.
Dr. Jimmy explains ‘We’re a collective group, we’re not individuals. In our culture, any issues affecting the family are not necessarily up to that person, who is enduring mental health challenges, to make the decision. It’s up to the Chief or the uncle who makes the decision around the welfare of the group. In my experience, this is the challenge. When you have to admit someone to the unit, who makes the decision here? I don’t have the answer. But it would be good to consider how the Western culture and ours clash. It’s something that needs to happen’.
Other approaches considered during the discussions included devising models of care to support patients in medical mental health care settings that embrace, rather than detach from, deeply embedded traditional belief systems. Ensuring approaches to mental health prevention and treatment are holistic and target the family unit, not only the patient presenting with symptoms. Dr. Jimmy further explains ‘something we’re looking at now is how we can create a one-stop shop, because you cannot treat mental illness on its own. Issues that are pertinent in our communities need to be addressed holistically. If you don’t bring everything into one room, you end up denying that person from holistic health access’.
With mental health becoming less of a tabu topic, the insights shared by event panellists and attendees of the WLI Learning & Networking event promotes open dialogue and ensures inclusivity whilst respectfully considering how culture can be seen as both a barrier to and enabler of mental health.