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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Health Reporter
Although Zimbabwe has witnessed a substantial increase in investment towards mental health awareness over the past few years, stakeholders have called for more collaborative efforts to ensure availability and accessibility of services.
The Government has identified mental health conditions, among the top non-communicable diseases affecting Zimbabweans. According to statistics, more than 1,3 million people in the country suffer from mental disorders with most of these cases being a result of the exponential rise in substance abuse.
Studies have shown that psychoactive substances like cough syrups and illicit alcoholic beverages are a major cause of mental disorders among people admitted in psychiatric hospitals.
There could be millions of other people who have not been diagnosed, but are suffering from mental health conditions silently.
National Association of People with Psychosocial Disabilities (NAPPD), a grouping of various organisations which focuses on mental health awareness such as the Zimbabwe OCD Trust, the Epilepsy Foundation, RUPASA: A Place To Talk and Mental Health Advocate Zimbabwe, has embarked on an initiative to bring the Government, private sector and other stakeholders together to help reach out to patients and offer sustainable solutions to issues surrounding mental health.-
NAPPD communications officer ,Mr Tinotenda Gwitima, said there was need to humanise conversations around different psychosocial disabilities beyond taboo, superstition, and even purely clinical perceptions of what the conditions were considered to be.
“There have been considerable efforts to improve investment in mental health. However, the spotlight has been predominantly on pandemics such as HIV, TB, Malaria and more recently Covid-19 which has led to mental health taking a back seat in the need for investment.
“The Government launched the Mental Health Investment case report last year (2021) which will be used mainly as an advocacy tool providing quantified evidence of the long-term health, social and economic benefits of investment in mental health.
“In the private sector we have also seen a rise in the involvement of corporates such as banks in different initiatives that centre on mental health. However, there is a need for more collaborative efforts to not only raise awareness but ensure availability and accessibility to mental health initiatives,” he said.
Mr Gwitima said the association, although still in its formative stages, was seeking to provide appropriate support to individuals and caregivers to promote the welfare of persons with psychosocial disabilities.
He said in 2022, there was a need to establish and facilitate community-based peer support groups, advocacy, awareness-creation and public education advocating for access to services within their communities on an equal basis with others.
According to the WHO, approximately 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental or behavioural disorders.
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