Addis Abeba — The World Health Organization (WHO) disclosed on Saturday that, in Africa region mental health problem is increasing in magnitude especially as access to continuing and quality care is limited for a large number of people suffering from mental, neurological or other disorders related to substance abuse.
World Mental Day 2009 was commemorated under the theme "Mental Health in Primary Care: Enhancing Treatment and Promoting Mental Health" in the premises of Emmanuel Mental Specialized Hospital (EMSH).
Studies carried out in Africa show that for nearly 80 percent of the people suffering from epilepsy, for the 34 million people consuming cannabis or "khat" in the continent, and for people suffering from undiagnosed depression particularly when the symptoms are somatic, access to adequate care in appropriate services remain limited, said Dr. Pascal Mkanda, Office In-Charge (OIC) of WHO during the occasion.
"The World Mental Health Day which calls for global attention to the need for mental health to take pride in health agendas and policies," he said.
According to Mkanda, a lot progress has been made in WHO African Region since the implementation of the Regional Strategy. 23 out of the 46 countries of the Region now have a mental health focal person in the ministry of health; 30 countries have developed or revised their mental health policies; 39 countries have included mental health and the prevention of substance abuse in their workplace for the next biennium; and more than 50 percent of the ministries of health have strengthened their institutional capacity to the benefit of mental health.
In order to assist countries in overcoming the main obstacles to improving mental health, the orientation adopted by Member States as contained in the document on the Regional Strategy for Mental Health put emphasis on various measures, namely: the designation within the Ministry of Health of a focal person in charge of the mental health programme; allocation of financial resources sufficient for implementation of activities; implementation of community-based psychosocial rehabilitation interventions focused on vulnerable groups; promotion of mental health and conduct of awareness campaigns for the adoption of healthy lifestyles as part of the commemoration of the World Mental Health, he added.
On the other hand, in Ethiopia over 15 million people are suffering from mental health problem and related diseases. EMSH is the only center for treating mental problems in the country.
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"The hospital is highly spilling over for simple to serious mental problems because it is the only center in the country. Patients also suffer and exposed for extra cost. Even though, the hospital is working to train mental health treatment for primary health care nurses, it requires strong commitment of higher officials and awareness creation in order to expand mental illness care centers," said Dr. Atalay Alem, Physician in EMSH and Instructor in Medicine Faculty of Addis Ababa University.
The data obtained from EMSH indicates that over 95 thousands of people who faced mental problem have been treated last year. On average 47 people are treated each day.
Over 450 million people are affected by mental health problems globally. Among those over half percent are living in developing countries.
Studies indicate that, mental health problems are among the most common of all health conditions, directly affecting about a quarter of the population in any one year, they range from short-term problems to serious long-term illness. Mental health problems result from a complex interaction of biological, social and psychological factors.
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