MOZAMBICANS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS LACK ME

Mozambican Health Minister Nazira Abdula on Monday in the northern city of Nampula lamented that an estimated 75 per cent of people suffering from mental illness are not receiving medical care due to a lack of resources.Abdula was speaking during the launching of the second phase of a programme to integrate mental health into primary health care, bringing together international partners and local health care professionals.

The minister stressed that “the integration of mental health services into primary care is the most viable way to cover the deficit in treatment and to ensure that people receive the care that they need”. She added that during the upcoming phase general health care professionals involved in primary health care will be trained to diagnose and treat mental disorders at the community level.Abdula pointed out that the second phase of the programme lasts one year and will cover Gaza province in the south of the country, Sofala in the centre, and Nampula in the north. It will involve around 600 health professionals who will also spread the message that mental health concerns everyone.

The minister added that if each health unit had at least one professional capable of identifying and treating mental illness it would be possible to reduce the existing deficit and improve the quality of life of the sufferers and their families. She noted that community involvement linked with professional intervention will enable patients to be monitored more closely to meet their needs.In order to implement the mental health strategy in primary health care, eleven professionals are being trained, nine at Doctoral level and two with Masters degrees. These specialists will work with the government’s partners to ensure that the expansion of mental health care provision is carried out with scientific rigour and with the necessary quality.In addition, Abdula stressed that her ministry has been working with partners to ensure that the data gathered throughout the country will be brought together in a single statistical platform under the control of the Mozambican government.Official figures show that last year 200,000 Mozambicans were treated for mental illness. In Nampula province, a sample of three health posts showed that 480 people were suffering from some form of mental disorder, with a quarter of those having depression.