On 11 August 2025, SAJIDA Foundation shared the outcomes of its Healing Pathways: SAJIDA Trauma Counselling Initiative, an emergency response intervention, during a roundtable discussion at The Daily Star Centre.

With government support, the project provided trauma-focused counselling to 277 survivors of the July uprising, including those injured and family members of the martyred, through centres at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in Dhaka, the 300-bed hospital in Narayanganj, and Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), alongside Shojon telemedicine services.

The event was attended by Zahida Fizza Kabir, Chief Executive Officer of SAJIDA Foundation, and moderated by journalist Raffat Binte Rashid. The project report was presented by Farjana Sharmin, General Manager of the SAJIDA Mental Health Programme.

In her remarks, Zahida Fizza Kabir stated that the initiative has demonstrated it is possible to deliver high-quality mental health services at low cost. She emphasised that expanding and sustaining such services will require stronger collaboration between the government and partner organisations.

S. M. Mahmudur Rashid (Assistant Director, Hospitals and Clinics, DGHS) noted that mental health remains one of the most neglected areas in public health, with only two specialist hospitals serving a large population and a 92% treatment gap. Prof. Dr. Nahid Mahjabin Morshed (Professor and former Chairman, Bangladesh Medical University) stressed the urgent need to train more mental health professionals and uphold ethical service standards. Monira Rahman (Country Director, Innovation for Wellbeing Foundation) highlighted the importance of rehabilitation, integration, and caregiver support in all programmes. Prof. Kamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury (Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Dhaka; Director of the Nasirullah Psychotherapy Unit) urged the government to prioritise mental health implementation, expand community-based interventions, develop paraprofessionals, and finalise the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for emergency mental health response.

Speakers collectively called for increased budget allocation, a larger pool of trained professionals, better integration of mental health into the national healthcare system, and the scaling up of accessible mental health services for survivors and communities across Bangladesh.