‘More mental health nurses needed’

Lea Mutanda and Precious Masakara

THE training of more mental health care nurses and psychiatrists is critical for the country as there is need to bridge the gap in the mental health services.

This was said by the Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Obadiah Moyo, at the World Mental Health Day and Suicide Prevention Day commemorations held at The University of Zimbabwe.

The occasion also saw the launching of the Friendship Bench project.

The Friendship Bench project is a community-based mental health programme that is helping to improve access to mental health care through cost-effective interventions.

“Every 40 seconds someone around the world dies from suicide, these are preventable deaths. Suicide is often linked to mental health problems such as depression and substance abuse. There is, therefore, an urgent need to reach stigma about mental health problems and increase access to mental health services for those who need help in order to prevent death by suicide,” Dr Moyo said.

“In Zimbabwe we only have 17 psychiatrists and 900 mental health nurses. There is need to train mental health workers to bridge the gap in the mental health services.”

Dr Moyo said the young generation are the ones who need a lot of attention as there are the ones facing constant stress leading to emotional distress.

“Suicide is the second leading death cause after road traffic accidents with the 15-29 age group being the majority of victims,” he said.

“There is also need to task share with non-specialists health workers to improve access to mental health care for every Zimbabwean through initiatives like the Friendship Bench,” he added.