Cameroon officials say the number of mental health patients in the country has doubled in the past year, as the country grapples with a separatist crisis in its western regions and Boko Haram clashes in the north.
Fonby Hedwick is the director of the Fine Mental Health Center in Bameda, the capital of Cameroon’s volatile Northwest Region.
He says his center was chosen for World Mental Health Day activities in Bamenda because the number of psychiatric patients at the center increased from less than 20 in 2021 to more than 100 in October 2022.
“We receive those who have gone through trauma, they are sad, many of them complain of insomnia, some of them cannot control themselves, they are very anxious, they are very restless. Some of them have severe anger problems. They display emotional and behavioral feelings. Uncontrollable tendencies. Fonby said.
Fonby said many families lack the resources to care for psychiatric patients at home and either abandon patients at the center or put them on the streets.
Rebecca Nkwati is the highest-ranking government official responsible for mental illness patients in the Northwest Region. She says the number of psychiatric patients seeking help in the area has risen from less than 2,500 to more than 6,000 over the past year.
“Some of them come here already being mistreated, so we are listening to their story to lift their spirits and in the context of looking for solutions, it may require us to go for home visits,” Nakwat said. “We help them at the police level and work with those who go to the hospital when it comes to trauma management. We make sure they have the same human rights as everyone else.”
Overall, Cameroon says the number of mentally ill people in the central African country has doubled from about 10,000 to 23,000 in the past 12 months.
The government says that as the separatist crisis subsides in the western regions and Boko Haram terrorism on the northern border, humanitarian workers are better able to find and help patients abandoned in villages where fighting has been intense.
Laurie Mingime is Director of Mental Health at the Ministry of Health of Cameroon. She says many people have lost family members in conflicts or experienced acts of abuse, violence and trauma, causing mental health crises.
She urges civilians to seek medical help rather than take psychiatric patients to traditional healers or priests who claim to have miraculous solutions to mental health problems.
She says that the majority of mentally ill government workers who help restore their health are tense, aggressive, angry and violent. It simply says that doctors and therapists should exercise more patience with psychopaths when patients become violent. She says the country relies heavily on doctors and therapists to reduce the growing number of psychiatric patients.
The World Health Organization reports that growing social and economic inequalities, protracted conflicts, violence and public health emergencies continue to affect mental health, in Cameroon and worldwide.
The United Nations says 84 million people around the world were forcibly displaced in 2021, increasing the number of people in need of mental health care.
The theme for World Mental Health Day 2022 is “Make mental health and well-being for all a global priority.”
Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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