A Common "Curse" in Africa

African Demographics

According to the World Atlas, the continent of Africa is located in the eastern hemisphere. It is the second largest and most populated continent in the world. The World Population Review says that Africa is split into 54 different countries, 9 territories and 2 de facto independent states. Despite African being the second most populated country, it has a very low population density, 65 people per square mile. Africa is a rapidly growing country with almost half of its population under the age of 15. However, the life expectancy is very low to due HIV/AIDS epidemic that considerably affects the population. The highest populated countries in Africa include: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Africa. The least populated countries include: Saint Helena (United Kingdom non-soveriegn country), Seychelles, Sao Tome and Principe, Mayotte (French country), and Cape Verde. 

From UNEP

From the Economist

Africa's Growing Countries

Nigeria is Africa's largest country and it is continuously growing. Its population is expected to surpass China's by the year 2100, estimating around one billion people. This is very interesting considering the size of Nigeria is comparable to the state of Texas. In addition to Nigeria, another large population boom subsides in the Sub-Sahara. The country of Tanzania grew over a million in just 13 years. However, this is concerning for many people due to the fact that Tanzania is the one of the world's poorest countries. It is expected that most of Africa's countries will at least triple in size due to high fertility rates and low quality family planning. 

Disability Statistics

The United Nations report that there are around eight million disabled people in Africa; meaning that between physical, mental and sensory disabilities at least 10% of the population is disabled. They found that it is more common for women to be disabled as well as disabilities being more common in rural areas compared to urban. African Renewal states that in the country of Kenya alone, population being 44 million, a fourth of the whole populations suffers from some sort of mental disability. In South African countries, population estimating 53 million, it is found that a third of people suffer from a mental disability as well. In the country of Nigeria at least 40 to 50 million people suffer. And in Ghana 2.8 out of the 25.9 have a mental illness. In the country of Sierra Leone, a total of 525,000 people suffer from depression and schizophrenia. 

From Rand Corporation

Africa's Healthcare System

The healthcare system differs from country to country so I'll be discussing Africa's most developed countries due to the fact that the undeveloped countries can't afford time or money to be focused around healthcare. Word Psychiatry explains that a majority of African countries have no health policies or plans set in place. So the World Health Organization (WHO) formulated a two step plan in addition to claiming that each state needed to adopt some sort of health plan for their citizens. Two years later they found that these plans had not worked and evidence showed that most of the health concerns that pertain to mental disabilities. The World Psychiatry Association (WPA) and the WHO worked together to promote the betterment of mental health in mainly Sub-Saharan Africa countries. Their goals included: reversing the negative views on mental disorders, change current or add new legislation and to try and make programs affordable for those in need. The WPA organized meetings with their own representatives and with the leaders of numerous African countries to educate them on mental health and ways to promote it. 

Absence of Mental Health Professionals / Institutionalization

The average number of psychiatrists for the African region is 0.05/100,000. Most of the time psychiatric nurses are the professionals who treat patients and prescribe medicine. Out of the 44 million people in Kenya, 80 are psychiatrists, 30 are clinical psychologists, and out of the 500 psychiatric nurses only 250 work in mental health. There is clearly a concerning gap for the amount of people who need help and the amount of people can give it. In Nigeria (population 174 million) there are only 130 psychiatrists meaning that only 10% of Nigerians have access to mental support. In a country of 25.9 million people, Ghana, there are only three psychiatric hospitals and 20 psychiatrists. And unfortunately Sierra Leone has one single psychiatric hospital in a country of over seven million people. 

From World Press Photo

Etiology and Treatment of Mental Disabilities - Moral Model

Mental illness in Africa isn't a topic that isn't commonly discussed or accepted. A Kenyan humor writer, Ted Malanda, explained that mental illness and depression is such a disregarded issue in Africa that the African language doesn't even have a word for it, it has never been an identified disease. They generally ignore the issue because they don't believe it is actually real. And in the cases where they do have to acknowledge a mental illness, they contribute it to a religious reason. For extreme mental illnesses, like dissociative identity disorder or schizophrenia, they usually attribute it to possession of the devil or religious punishment. For these reasons people with mental disabilities aren't treated well. They are usually disregarded and some of the time shunned from their families; similar to how people with physical disabilities were treated in Emmanuel's Gift. 

Perception of PWD

As I explained above there is a lot of discrimination against people with disabilities in general as well a people with mental disabilities/illnesses. A lot of the time people don't know how to treat someone, or they won't, and even if they wanted to there are not a lot of resources available. The WPA and the WHO are actively working for acceptance and further education if African communities across the continent. If people are start to become informed there is a better chance that they will understand and furthermore accept the problems that exist in their societies. 

From Newswire

Works Cited:
Ababa, A. (2016, March). United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Retrieved February, 2018, from https://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PublicationFiles/demographic_profile_rev_april_25.pdf
Cassimally, K. A. (2013, March 4). Tackling Mental Illness In Africa. Retrieved February, 2018, from https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/labcoat-life/tackling_mental_illness_in_africa
Njenga, F. (2007, October). The concept of mental disorder: an African perspective. Retrieved February, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2174593/
OKASHA, A. (2002). Mental health in Africa: the role of the WPA. Retrieved 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1489826/