DURBAN - THE World Health Organization’s (WHO) new Mental Health Atlas paints a disappointing picture of a worldwide failure to provide people with the services they need at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic highlights a growing need for support.
The latest edition of the atlas, which included data from 171 countries, provided a clear indication that the increased attention given to mental health in recent years has yet to result in a scale-up of quality services that is aligned with needs.
Issued every three years, the atlas is a compilation of data provided by countries on mental health policies, legislation, financing, human resources, availability and utilisation of services and data collection systems. It is also the mechanism for monitoring progress towards meeting the targets in the WHO’s comprehensive mental health action plan.
The UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the WHO have called for governments to increase investment in, and access to, mental health-care services for children living in Africa.
This as South Africa commemorates Mental Health Awareness Month in the wake of the WHO reporting that at least one in seven children living in subSaharan countries such as South Africa were suffering “significant psychological hardship”.
Unicef regional director for eastern and southern Africa, Mohamed Fall, said children on the African continent faced far greater challenges than adults.
“Addressing child and adolescent mental health in Africa is urgent. Over the years, millions of young people have been exposed to challenges most adults would find very difficult to cope with, often having to deal with the psychological impacts on their own. Our systems are still failing them,” Fall said.
The WHO regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, revealed that in Africa, governments invested less than R14 per person on mental health-care services.
“Investment in mental health remains extremely low in Africa, with government expenditure at less than one US dollar per capita. We simply cannot afford to let millions of children needing care go without help.
“It is time to make a difference and ensure that children grow into adulthood free of the potentially life-long and devastating impacts of unaddressed mental health challenges,” Moeti said.
She highlighted that the number of mental health workers available to each person in Africa compromised the quality of help people could receive.
“Almost two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, many people are experiencing isolation, anxiety or depression. Unfortunately, most people with mental health conditions in Africa do not have access to quality care. There are fewer than two mental health workers per 100 000 people in the African region, compared with a global average of 13.
“I urge governments to invest in the social determinants of mental health, and to work with civil society groups and the private sector to strengthen mental health services in communities,” Moeti said.
Daily News