Mogadishu (AX) — For many years, Somalia has been caught in a storm of turmoil, poverty, and uprooting that’s left the nation’s mental health in shambles. This dire situation has largely been ignored, as highlighted by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). “Women and kids are really taking the hardest hit,” they noted in a recent report, pointing to the intensifying mental stress blanketing these already strained communities.
From the start of 2024 to September, MSF’s dedicated mental health squads have been busy, logging 4,940 one-on-one consultations in areas such as Baidoa and Galkayo. They also managed to engage over 38,000 folks through group sessions designed to boost mental health awareness and share survival tactics. However, experts are quick to point out that these efforts barely skim the surface of the colossal mental load faced by Somalis.
Alberto Macin, who leads MSF’s mental health initiatives in Somalia, painted a grim picture of the crisis. “Years of brutality, displacement, and natural calamities have left people’s mental states deeply scarred,” he remarked. He emphasized the cultural taboos around discussing mental well-being. “Sexual violence is widespread, yet remains a hush-hush topic,” said Macin, underscoring the entrenched stigma in Somali society.
Staggering under decades of civil strife, relentless droughts, and floods, Somalia has seen countless people uprooted and livelihoods shattered. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that around 13% of populations affected by conflict worldwide grapple with mental disorders like PTSD, depression, and anxiety. In Somalia, these problems are aggravated by rampant poverty, a fragmented healthcare infrastructure, and a dire shortage of mental health experts.
The most vulnerable to these mental trials include women, kids, the elderly, and those living with disabilities. Families often find themselves struggling to support relatives with severe mental issues, such as psychosis or bipolar disorder, without the necessary help. One Somali woman shared, “Caring for my uncle, who has psychosis, is becoming impossible. He’s increasingly aggressive, and we lack any means to manage him.”
Mental health services in Somalia are scarce. Collaborations between the Ministry of Health and local groups deliver some counseling and psychosocial support, particularly targeting survivors of violence and those with chronic conditions like HIV and tuberculosis. Yet, these services fall glaringly short of the extensive needs. Countless individuals needing both medication and psychological care remain untreated due to limited resources.
The humanitarian quagmire in Somalia, aggravated by overcrowded displacement camps and inadequate access to essential necessities like food and healthcare, has further intensified mental health woes. “Hope is a distant memory,” a displaced person told MSF during a session, capturing the despair many feel amidst perpetual adversity.
Macin called for a unified response from the global community, urging that mental health care become a core part of broader humanitarian initiatives addressing fundamental needs like sustenance, shelter, and hydration. He stressed that mental health schemes should be managed by qualified specialists, such as psychiatric nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists, to guarantee quality care.
In spite of the daunting challenges, the people of Somalia demonstrate remarkable resilience. MSF and similar organizations are banking on empowering local communities to offer psychological aid as a stopgap measure in the face of service gaps. Macin suggested that bolstering traditional social ties and fostering community solidarity could provide emotional salve to those suffering.
Without hefty international backing for mental health services, millions of Somalis will remain shackled by silent suffering, with no access to the direly needed care.
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
