Kenya: Alarm Raised Over Mental Health Disorder
By Lilian Museka
Poor health among school going children impedes access on educational attainment and their future goals. A research done by the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) shows healthy young people are more likely to learn more effectively. However, mental health issues are becoming more real among school going children, interfering with their studies.
The health issues are unaddressed in most parts of Kenya and therefore need to improve the well being of Kenyan Children to prevent later problems in adulthood.
Kenya’s Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF) is one of the organizations that will benefit from the $ 19.4 million in support of innovative, pioneering projects designed to improve mental health diagnosis.
The funds released by Grand Challenges Canada, which is funded by the Government of Canada will also be disbursed to Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, and Malawi among other developing nations ravaged by poverty, conflict and disaster in Asia and Latin America.
Principal investigator at AMHF Prof. David Ndetei notes that it is through such endeavours that children will be freed to concentrate in their education; be able to develop normally, and go on to achieve full potential in education and in relationships with their parents, teachers, peers and the society.
He adds that AMHF will use a model training that will focus on recognizing mental health conditions and putting preventive measures; the whole idea being to enable children to develop their full potential.
“This is the first time this model is being tried in Africa. If shown to work then it can be scaled up and can be used in other parts of the country and more importantly it can be used in other countries in the African context with similar socio-cultural characteristics,” said Professor.
The organization’s other programme that will benefit from the fund is Screening for alcohol and depression in Kenya (The Computer-Based Drug and Alcohol Training Assessment in Kenya e-DATA-K). This involves making diagnosis of depression and alcohol abuse using modern technology.
Victoria Mutiso, the project Co-investigator says the project will look into how mental issues can be prevented, detect them early and employ evidence based management.
It is at this stage that children are industrious and form concrete grounds for normal development and therefore interruption at this stage could see mental health issues arise and persist into adulthood if not addressed, adds Victoria
Canada’s minister of finance Jim Flaherty, acknowledged that global mental health is a significant challenge which, left unaddressed, could undermine the health, social and economic futures of developing countries.”
“”Mental health patients are often stigmatized, misunderstood and unmanaged in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) therefore making mental illness “the most neglected of neglected diseases”, he added.
Meanwhile, Peter Singer, Grand Challenges Canada Chief Executive Officer says mental health is neglected in developing countries.
Singer adds that "Mental health disorders are a leading cause of suffering and disability everywhere, but the problem is especially acute in the developing world, It is a terrible denial of human potential and this calls for increased awareness.”
Dr. Pamela Kanellis, Program Officer for Grand Challenges Canada says the projects underscores the importance of innovation to making mental health care available in low- and middle-income countries which are so desperately undeserved and where stigma can result in people being locked up, even kept in chains, not receiving the care that they need.
World Health Organization (WHO) states that, up to 75 percent of people with mental disorders live in developing countries and 85 percent of them with serious disorders receive no treatment.
World health mental day is being celebrated today, October 10th 2012.