Empowerment: Observations on mental health in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Mental health issues facing sub-Saharan Africa are formidable. The prevalence of neurological and psychiatric disorders in Africa are probably the same, if not higher, in developed countries, particularly for conditions such as epilepsy. Current economic, physical and social conditions in sub-Saharan Africa make the prevention and treatment of these disorders very difficult, which in turn leads to further mental health problems. These debilitating social conditions include poverty, political, economic and social instability, civil unrest, displaced populations, and political and criminal violence. While there is not a direct link between these conditions and mental health, they put communities at risk, exacerbate existing problems and limit the resources needed for addressing these issues. The average African is 22% poorer today than in 1975. Unemployment is over 100 million (Oxfam America 1995). There are more than 5 million refugees in Africa, not including those displaced within their own country (Desjarlais et al. 1995). Twenty-one million adults and children are infected with HIV/AIDS and 4 million have died. Health services in Africa only reach about half the population, with 70-80% of the population living in rural areas (Oxfam America 1995). On the Index of Social Progress, which measures 46 social indicators, the African continent is the least developed region of the world (Estes 1995).