If you are seated five people in a bus, restaurant or at the office, chances are that one of you has a mental problem.
According to new research, a quarter of the Kenyans suffers from some form of mental illnesses that is not taken seriously and are more often discriminated against.
Up to 40 per cent of in-patients in health centres and another 25 per cent of out-patients suffer from mental conditions, Business Daily quotes a policy report released Tuesday by the Ministry of Health shows. This translates to one in every four Kenyans or 10 million people based on the recent census of 40 million Kenyans.
Health Secretary Cleopa Mailu said many of these cases go unnoticed by health workers because most of the patients do not know how to express themselves well.
“Most people go to hospitals with hapa hapa syndrome – explanations that cannot be understood and they are left to go; this shows low level of awareness on mental health, which most turn out to be serious cases,” said Dr Mailu.
The Health CS was speaking during the launch of Kenya Mental Health Policy (2015-2030) document in Nairobi. He said mental health should take centre-stage of health delivery since it is a determinant of overall health and socio-economic development.
Mental health is described as a state of well-being where individuals recognise their abilities, are able to cope with normal stresses of life, and work productively to make a contribution to their communities.
Ninety per cent of the one million suicides globally are associated with some form of mental disorder, namely stress, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia. Dr Mailu said that the Ministry will budget for financial resources to bridge the current huge mental health gap, infrastructure for mental health, building capacity and competencies of the workforce for mental health.
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