Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has informed that 50 percent of the country’s population is suffering from mental health.
According to the MoPH officials, one in two Afghans are suffering from mental health in the country and at least 50 percent of the country’s population needs mental services.
“Based on national survey conducted about mental health in 2018, of each two people, one of them is struggling with mental stress due to several reasons. The tally is expected to increase,” said Mohammad Hassan Gheyasi, deputy minister of health.
He added that it was good that since 2004, mental health and psycho-social counseling have been a major part of health services, and many health workers have been trained in mental health and it was still going on, as last year more than two million people have received mental health services mostly through primary health care.
Dr. Gheyasi further said that the country’s ministry of public health was committed to providing facilities to the population to get access to regular health services, adding that the ministry was continually working to improve the quality and fragmentation of the current health services in the primary and secondary health centers of their health system so that no one should be excluded due to poverty, stigma, limitations, geographic or other factors from mental health services.
Meanwhile, head of the department of the mental health of the ministry of public health Wahidullah Afghan said that the number of patients suffering from mental illness has increased by 50 percent.
It is worth mentioning that October 10th marks World Mental Health Day. War and economic challenges are considered as the main reasons for increasing mental stresses among the country’s population.
Samiullah Momand
World Mental Health Day; 50% of Afghans suffer from mental problem
