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Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Mat South Bureau Chief
THERE is a need to scale up mental health services in rural communities where depression and other mental disorders go undetected until it is too late, an expert has said.

A significant population in rural areas does not believe that there is anything called depression and rising cases of suicide are associated with witchcraft.

Women, in particular, have no place or opportunity to mix and mingle to share ideas, as they are mostly busy with domestic chores and have no time to relax.

While the prevalence of mental illness is similar between rural and urban residents, the services available are different and mental healthcare needs are often not met in many rural communities across the country because adequate services are not available.

Mental health advocate and founder of Abangane Platforms, a mental health support group, Mr Zibusiso Munandi said mental health is still a distant thought in rural areas.

“People don’t believe terms such as depression and most people who commit suicide are said to have been bewitched.

There is a need to scale up mental health advocacy in rural areas, but not in a way that eradicates or dilutes their culture because if we bring up programmes that dilute their culture, we’re perpetuating the status quo of viewing mental health as a borrowed entity from the West, yet it’s not; it has always been there among us,” said Mr Munandi.

Scaling up advocacy strides, he said, has to include various stakeholders such as the Government, local chiefs and leaders.

“Most importantly, we have to structure mental health blueprints that are Afrocentric, re-imagining mental health in an Afrocentric and domesticated voice and practice. Abangane Platforms is planning on making the strides for the year 2022,” said Mr Munandi.

He pointed out that high rates of stigmatisation, discrimination and human rights violations of people with mental health disorders were rampant.

“Lack of public understanding and knowledge about mental health, lack of social care services and health system responses in marginalised communities, lack of services and programmes on mental health that address youths’ emotional and behavioural problems and lack of psychosocial support from community resources to victims and survivors of mental health disorders and their families are problems we have to address.”

He believes community-based mental health services, including outreach services and community-based rehabilitation centres must be built to tackle the scourge.

“It will be important to set up life skills programmes, including, but not confined to leadership and business courses, programmes to counter bullying and substance abuse and integrate mental health disorder programmes into disease-specific programmes that involve and educate on diseases such as HIV/Aids along with other sexual reproductive diseases.

“Intervention for youths exhibiting emotional and behavioural problems and enhancement of self-help groups, social support networks and community participation for people with mental health disorders is also key,” he said. — @Yolisswa