How counsellor-grandmothers of Zimbabwe are averting a mental health crisis
Al Jazeera
Initiative, started in 2006, addresses shortage of psychosocial help and abundance of mental health issues in Zimbabwe.
Harare, Zimbabwe – In Zimbabwe, a country of 15 million people, there are fewer than 20 psychiatrists.
And mental health issues are rife, given a litany of trauma unaddressed for decades: first the horrors of British colonialism and the liberation struggle and then the Zimbabwean army’s killing of thousands of people in the southwestern region of Matabeleland for allegedly supporting ex-guerrillas who turned on the government after independence.
Even today, the impact of socioeconomic hardships resulting from a faltering economy, high unemployment and the highest inflation rate in the world along with an ailing healthcare system have made the Southern African country fertile ground for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, domestic violence and suicide.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Zimbabwe has one of the highest suicide rates in Africa.
Consequently, most people living with mental health issues, especially those who cannot afford the steep psychiatrist fees, do not get any help.
