Psychiatry Research EG

Mental disorders have been recognised in Egypt for millennia 5000 years ago they were considered to be physical ailments of the heart or uterus as described in the Ebers and Kahun papyri (Okasha 2001). These disorders carried no stigma as there was no demarcation then between psyche and soma. In the 14th century – 600 years before similar institutions were founded in Europe – the first psychiatric unit was established in Kalaoon Hospital in Cairo. Egypt is central to the Arab world which despite its wealth and its natural and human resources has fared poorly in many aspects of development. Important problems include illiteracy (especially among women) lack of job opportunities (especially for young people) and slow economic growth because of loss of traditional economies low productivity and lack of innovation and competitiveness. Military spending is triple that of other regions. Rapid expansion of Arab populations threatens progress especially in countries with limited resources such as Egypt