300 people go mad monthly in Malawi, say mental health experts

Mental health experts say 300 people, mostly the youth, go mad every month due to abuse of alcohol and drugs and are referred to Zomba Mental Hospital.

Zomba Mental Hospital

Director of Zomba Mental Hospital Immaculate Chamangwana says this number is alarming and puts a strain on meagre resources at the hospital which she said does not have adequate qualified staff to handle the situation and the infrastructure cannot accommodate all.

This was said on Wednesday during the commemoration of World Mental Day in Nkhata Bay.

“That is the major challenge in Malawi, we face a lot of challenges in terms of resources,” said Chamangwana.

She said in district hospitals, the situation is dire as there are no wards for people with mental problems, saying they are put in ordinary wards with other patients, putting lives of the other patients at risk.

Chamangwana said the Mental Health Department gets a meagre four per cent of the whole ministry of Health national budget which she said is not enough.

She said most youth abuse alcohol and drugs due to depression mostly due to lack of employment so they become stressed up.

Chief director in the ministry of Health Charles Mwansambo said the government is working on prevention measures of mental health problems rather than waiting for treating the patients, saying prevention is better than cure.

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MBEKI
MBEKI
6 years ago

UNBEARABLE POVERTY AND SUFFERING CAUSES ALL THESE THINGS

pathfinder
pathfinder
6 years ago
Reply to  MBEKI

Dude please do not twist stories here. You heard yourself on the page that it’s alcohol and drug abuse. Ngati iwe umphawi wakukang’antha chifukwa cha ulesi wako osaone ngati ndi tonse. Munthu ngati akukwanisa kugula mowa ndi ma drug, sizingatanthauze kuti akuvutika ndi umphawi.

Mzungu dala
Mzungu dala
6 years ago
Reply to  pathfinder

Stupid logic pathfinder. Various studies throughout the years have shown that poverty drives people to indulge in illicit drugs and alcohol. By its very nature illicit alcohol (kachasu) is cheap and substandard. Therefore poor people will go for it. Our youth are jobless and have nothing to do. To forget problems they just get high. KACHASU ndi CHAMBA basi! Can’t blame them though. Blame government.

bae
bae
6 years ago
Reply to  MBEKI

komaso chamba

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