Mental Health Day: Anxiety disorders top mental health issues in Africa

Anxiety disorders, substance abuse, harmful use of alcohol, depression and eating disorders has been identified as some of the mental health issues affecting the younger population in Africa.

In today’s world, most people have been or personally know someone who has been affected by the suicide of someone close to them. Suicide rates have regularly climbed over time.

While there is rarely one, reason behind a person’s choice to commit suicide, there is one thing that is indisputable. Alcohol has been found in relation to nearly one-third of suicides -a significantly larger concentration than there are people who suffer from alcoholism in the general population.

It is impossible to narrow down to a single reason that people come to commit suicide. The abuse of alcohol, however, is often a first step down the road.

It is a sad fact, but the reality is that many people out there are using alcohol as self-medication. Whether they suffer from anxiety, some kind of mood or personality disorder, or are trying to cope with a trauma, many people turn to alcohol to forget their problems.

The chronic use of this substance, however, can mean that someone builds a tolerance, dependence, and eventually an addiction.

A recent report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that about 800,000 people commit suicide every year across the world.

In addition, the WHO 2016 Global Health Observatory Data Repository estimated that about 9.5 suicides per 100,000 occur in Nigeria.

The worry is that suicide continues to be on the rise, though it is a criminal offence in Nigeria. According to Section 327 of the Criminal Code, attempted suicide remains criminalised and the victim risks imprisonment for one year.

To this end, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on governments to facilitate multi-sectoral partnership with relevant stakeholders in order to limit access to firearms and certain medications to prevent the high rate of suicide in Africa.

The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, who made this call in a message to commemorate the ‘’Mental Health Day’’ also appealed to governments to strengthen policies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol to prevent suicide.

Dr Moeti said the theme for the 2019 Mental Health Day “Working Together to Prevent Suicide” is apt following rise in suicide cases. ‘’This year, the focus is on suicide prevention because globally, every 40 seconds, a life is lost to suicide’’.

She said that the spotlight for this year’s commemoration that is aimed at creating awareness and advocacy against social stigma, mental health education, against social stigma was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organisation with members and contacts in more than 150 countries.

While stressing that the World Mental Health Day is also an opportunity to unite African regions and the world for better well-being, Moeti added that the focus of the Day is suicide prevention because the menace has become a global concern.

She said, “In the African region, data is scarce and stigma is significant around suicide, but we know this is an important public health problem.

“Where data is available such as Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Lesotho, the suicide rates have been shown to be higher than 20 per 100,000 people each year. This is higher than in most European countries, China or the U.S’’.

The regional director said almost four out of five suicide cases occur in low- and middle-income countries, noting that in those countries, the rates are similar among men and women.

‘’In the African region, WHO works with countries to integrate mental health services at the primary care and community levels through the WHO Package of Essential Non-communicable Disease (PEN) interventions.

She added that WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) training was so far conducted in Liberia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Uganda, saying that the world body was also working with communities to address psychosocial needs in the aftermath of health emergencies.

‘’Yes, we know that mental health is a chronically under-resourced area, in Ethiopia, it is estimated that 20 million people have mental health issues, but only 10 per cent have access to treatment and less than one per cent receiving specialized care.”

While calling on governments and relevant stakeholders in the health sector to train non-specialised workers to assess and manage suicidal behaviours, Moeti also charged stakeholders in the health sector to identify, treat and care for people with mental and substance use disorders, chronic pain and acute emotional distress, and improve follow-up care for people who attempted suicide.

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The regional director also appealed to stakeholders in the education sector to implement school-based interventions to offer mental health support for adolescents and urged researchers to conduct studies to identify culturally relevant risk factors and how they apply in different contexts.

‘’the media can report responsibly in line with WHO guidance; and communities can contribute to reducing stigma and discrimination and provide supportive networks.

‘’Communities can contribute to reducing stigma and discrimination and providing supportive networks. Together, we can reduce the number of suicide cases, tackle the stigma of mental illness and support each other for better well-being in our communities’’, she added.