Psychiatry Research EG

Africa is a large continent, prone to strife, especially south of the Sahara. Most of its countries are characterized by low incomes, high prevalence of communicable diseases and malnutrition, low life expectancy and poorly staffed services (1,2). Mental health issues often come last on the list of priorities for policy makers (3). Where mortality is still mostly the result of infectious diseases and malnutrition, the morbidity and disablement due to mental illness receive very little attention from the government. Health in general is still a poorly funded area of social services in most African countries (1) and, compared to other areas of health, mental health services are poorly developed. Indeed, most African countries have no mental health policies, programs or action plans (4,5). In 1988 and 1990, the member states in the African Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted two resolutions to improve mental health services, and each state was expected to formulate mental health policies, programs and action plans. A survey was conducted two years later to see if the countries that had adopted these resolutions had done anything to implement them. Despite some modest achievements, the situation of mental health programs in most countries was found to be unsatisfactory (4). Compelling evidence shows that a large proportion of the global health burden is due to mental disorders, and this proportion is projected to rise in many African countries