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| Health Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah M. Barasa |
Health Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah M. Barasa has called for increased investment in mental health in order to address the growing mental health burden in the country.
While emphasising the need for a multidisciplinary approach to prevention, care and treatment of mental health cases, Dr Barasa pointed out that mental health is one of the key focus areas under the government’s universal health agenda and a key priority of the Ministry of Health.
Noting the huge gap in access to mental health treatment in the country with only 19 counties having mental health facilities, CS Barasa affirmed her commitment to initiate development of policies that will expand mental health treatment and care across the country.
Dr Barasa made the remarks while on a tour of Mathari Teaching and Referral Hospital where she assessed the level of service delivery and interacted with patients, staff and management of the facility. She later held a consultative meeting with management where discussions centred on the mental health burden in the country, operations at the facility, achievements, challenges and identified areas that they needed the support of the CS.
The Hospitals chief executive officer Dr Julius Ogato called for an increase in the expenditure on mental health which currently stands at a paltry 0.04% of the total health budget in the country. He pointed out the lack of a functional referral system in the mental health space as a major drawback to effective management of mental health cases and advocated for affirmative action in training of specialists in mental health to increase the number of qualified professionals in the areas.
While championing a “whole of society” approach, Dr Ogato lamented the poor health seeking behaviour among Kenyans with regard to mental health illnesses. He stressed the need for increased sensitisation for members of the public to address stigma associated with the disease and help the public appreciate the need for persons with mental illness to hospital.
Mathari Teaching and Referral Hospital is one of the six national referral hospitals under the Ministry of Health. The hospital, the largest mental health facility in the country and the East Africa region with a bed capacity of 800 patients , has a staff establishment of 350 healthcare workers.
By Maxwell Wasike