I hope everyone takes time to read this article because it has some very powerful stories of just how real this problem is for the people of Kenya and probably in many other countries as well. In this article, a few Kenyan families talk about the challenges they have faced because of mental health issues within their family. Milkah Moraa has been taking care of her son, Thomas, for 30 years because of a mental disorder that started when he was three. He is tied to his bed most days so that he does not run away from his family. The family has tried many doctors and hospitals without any help, but they have been unsuccessful in finding ways to help Thomas. The family has had to move multiple times because neighbors shunned Thomas and the entire family. Thomas and his family are not the only Kenyans that go through this every day of their lives.
The problem in Kenya is much worse than the social stigma that often is associated with mental health and examples of this stigma can be seen in many posts throughout this blog. Kenya does have a serious social stigma that they deal with, but more than anything, there is a neglect associated with mental health. Entire families are forced to hide and neglect their loved ones suffering from mental illness. The article talks about children chained in chicken coops and filthy shacks. These people are neglected by every level of their country, from the government to their neighbors.
The government may be most to blame for this epidemic of neglect and abuse sweeping their country. Inadequate resources and corruption are easily seen in the government. The article estimates that 3 million Kenyans have mental disabilities but the government spends less than 1% of its health budget on mental health. This translates to a quarter of patients that go to hospitals are complaining of mental health issues. This is unacceptable considering the health budget is probably already limited, and the government spends less than 1% of the money it has on a problem that 25% of patients complain about. How many more people with these mental health issues cannot even make it to the hospital. Also, corruption only worsens the problem as $3 billion of public money was stolen in 2009 alone, ten times what the government annually spends on global health.
The government needs to take steps to solve this problem in their country. There is only one psychiatric hospital in the entire country, and it is considered more of a prison than a place for people to heal. More hospitals need to be set up that will help the Kenyan people recover from their mental disabilities. Education programs need to be established to educate the population of mental disabilities and ways to treat them at home. Families need to be educated as to how to best care for their loved ones that are suffering instead of the feeling that there is nothing they can do but tie them to a bed. Finally the government needs to put more financial resources into the mental health department because a quarter of their patients at hospitals are complaining of mental problems. The government has to finally come to reality with respect to the health challenges facing their people today.
This is not an easy problem to fix because it is once again ingrained into the minds of the people, but I think an important start is families becoming educated in taking care of their loved ones because many of these families cannot afford extensive hospital stays and treatment. How can the government work to educate the population as a whole on ways to deal with mental health within their families?
I think you make some good points. In class we've talked about the different groups of disease: communicable disease, non-communicable disease, and injuries. In my mind though, there is a fourth group. Where does mental health belong?
ReplyDeleteMental health disabilities can be altogether more potent than those of the other three not only because they're stigmatized or because they are highly debilitating, but because they simply get lost in the shuffle. They're often the most neglected in the places that need the most help. The question then is to which cause do you allocate more resources, mental health or the type of communicable disease prevention and treatment that we've discussed in class. Which is the most dire, urgent need?
For most, mental health is put on the back burners until other social ills are solved: in the US we had to overcome communicable disease and gain some semblance of basic public health education as well as establish equal rights for races, genders, ethnicities, religions, and to some degree sexual orientations before mental health ever became socially acceptable. Even still it is stigmatized.
Awareness and education are key when it comes to mental health, and we have a long way to go in this area.
I personally think the best method of education is through public awareness campaigns utilizing mass media, but in more rural areas this won't work. The only thing that will get people to see it's ok, would be to see examples of it in public prominence being accepted.
Perhaps it's time that NGOs and non-profits started taking a closer look at mental health and remembered that wellness encompasses multiple areas: mind, body, and spirit.
Mental health leads to an ailing in all other aspects of health as well, including physical, social, and spiritual. I think that part of the reason that mental illness is not as traditionally focused on for relief is because of the fact that when people think of mental illness, they attach it to the soul of the patient, who the patient is. And therefore, there is a context of evil or disturbed that is attached to it, because it is made so personal. With cancer or communicable diseases however, we feel bad for patients because we are just as easily susceptible and therefore can understand. However, what we don't realize is that we are all just as susceptible in some ways to mental illnesses as well. And in a situation like that of Kenya, it is easy to see how this lifestyle in the community can lead to a growth of these conditions among others as well.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard for us to fathom as well these stories, because they seem so extravagant that it must be exaggerated, or maybe we can just be sad about it and then hope that someone will take care of it. Awareness is indeed important, but I still feel like these people need not only government changes, but honestly, I feel like the dream I would have for intervention would be to have them visited by another human being who can simply say they would like to spend some time with them. This isn't necessarily the most practical idea by any stretch, but I feel like the practical decisions that we do make should start to inch towards this ideal at least.