{"id":66607,"date":"2024-10-11T17:28:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T17:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/msf-the-overlooked-mental-health-crisis-in-south-sudan"},"modified":"2024-10-11T17:28:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T17:28:00","slug":"msf-the-overlooked-mental-health-crisis-in-south-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/msf-the-overlooked-mental-health-crisis-in-south-sudan","title":{"rendered":"MSF: The overlooked mental health crisis in South Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. <\/strong><\/span>In South Sudan, poverty, violence, and displacement can sometimes overshadow mental health issues. Neglected by the health system and confronted by deep-rooted stigma, many people face their mental health struggles in silence, enduring a daily battle that goes unseen and unheard.<\/p>\n

Doctors Without Borders\/Me\u0301decins Sans Frontie\u0300res (MSF) is one of the few organizations providing mental health services in South Sudan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe receive many patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and postpartum depression affecting new mothers,\u201d says Germando Kagomba, MSF mental health activity manager in Lankien.<\/p>\n

Between January and July 2024, MSF provided more than 9,600 mental health consultations and facilitated group discussions for 54,000 people across South Sudan. However, these efforts only scratch the surface of a dire need.<\/p>\n

When she was just 12 years old, Mary Nyanhial Kiel had to escape her home in Paguir, South Sudan, when armed groups attacked her village.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were forced to flee, and many people were killed,\u201d Mary recalls. Her parents managed to escape with her and her siblings, but their ordeal was far from over. \u201cA year later, during a cattle raid, my father and elder brother were killed while trying to guard our cattle. We were hiding in the bush\u2014they tried to protect us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Nyanhial Kiel fled her home in Paguir at age 12 when armed groups attacked her village. South Sudan 2024 \u00a9 Isaac Buay\/MSF<\/p>\n

Some years later, Mary had to face the loss of a loved one once again. Mary\u2019s husband, who had gone to Sudan to work as a cattle herder to support his family, never came back, leaving her as the sole caregiver for her six children. \u201cNow I am all they have,\u201d she says. \u201cI work at a tea shop, but it\u2019s not enough. We only eat one meal a day and I can\u2019t afford to send my kids to school.\u201d<\/p>\n

The silent crisis of mental health<\/b><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to look far to find a story like Mary\u2019s. Just a short distance from Mary\u2019s home, Nyayong Puol Lam had also experienced an episode of loss some years back. She was forced to flee her village after seeing her brother and many people she knew killed.<\/p>\n

During the 2016 conflict, her husband was killed, and just recently she buried her sister.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister was killed by her husband who was mentally ill,\u201d says Nyayong. \u201cAnd now I\u2019m taking care of her six children and two of my own. With no husband or brother to support me, it is difficult. The children are too young, and they don\u2019t understand … I have lost all hope. I am hopeless.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the 2016 conflict, Nyayong Puol Lam\u2019s husband was killed, and just recently she buried her sister. South Sudan 2024 \u00a9 Isaac Buay\/MSF<\/p>\n

The widespread violence has not only displaced families but has also stripped people of their livelihoods, crops, and any sense of stability. \u201cWe are not the only ones,\u201d explains Mary. \u201cThis is happening to everyone in South Sudan. Everyone is suffering. My mother has no hope; she still thinks that we are going to die. She thinks my brothers are going to die every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

While primary health care is scarce in South Sudan, mental health services are even more limited. Many people like Mary and Nyayong have been left to fend for themselves with little to no access to food, education, or health care.<\/p>\n

Continuous cycles of conflict, displacement, food insecurity, and extreme poverty have created overwhelming stress, while the stigma around mental health remains strong. This stigma is one of several reasons mental health is not talked about. \u201cI only talk about it during the MSF mental health sessions because here, everyone is going through the same thing,\u201d says Mary. Yet amid everyone\u2019s suffering, Mary adds, \u201cIf you complain at home, they call you weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three out of four patients seeking mental health support through MSF have endured intercommunal violence, sexual violence, or gender-based violence. Mental health issues are often complex, and the patient\u2019s initial need for help might stem from other sources of trauma or stress.<\/p>\n

Impossible choices<\/b><\/p>\n

When a loved one struggles with mental health issues in South Sudan, caregivers are often forced to make impossible choices due to a lack of access to treatment. Many lock their family members away out of fear of the stigma and the violence it might provoke. In extreme cases, they even resort to chaining them. People suffering from mental illnesses are often left to languish by the broader society. Instead of receiving care, they are often confined to prisons or other unsuitable environments, worsening their condition and deepening their suffering due to lack of sufficient resources and infrastructure, and because there are no trained mental health professionals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith limited infrastructure, some patients take up to four days just to reach the hospital,\u201d Kagomba adds. \u201cSo when you have a mental health condition, people don\u2019t really take care of you as they do for others, and the patients who make it to the hospital do not come back for follow-up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long-term consequences of untreated mental health issues<\/b><\/p>\n

Untreated mental health conditions may lead to long-term harm, including the deterioration of physical health, and can affect not only individuals but entire generations.<\/p>\n

The significant gap in mental health treatment means that people lacking care are more vulnerable in their communities, which can further entrench them and their families in poverty. Limited participation in community activities and restricted employment opportunities diminish their quality of life. This situation may also lead to higher rates of teenage pregnancy and domestic violence. Untreated mental health conditions can also result in higher mortality rates.<\/p>\n

To break the cycle of neglect, mental health care must be integrated into the broader health care system, so people in South Sudan can begin to heal from the deeper scars left by displacement and poverty. Without this change, families like Mary\u2019s and Nyayong\u2019s will continue to struggle, and hope for recovery will remain out of reach.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. In South Sudan, poverty, violence, and displacement can sometimes overshadow mental health issues. Neglected by the health system and confronted by deep-rooted stigma, many people face their mental health struggles in silence, enduring a daily battle that goes unseen and unheard. Doctors Without Borders\/Me\u0301decins Sans Frontie\u0300res (MSF) is one of the few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":66606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234,265,233],"class_list":["post-66607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-sudan","tag-south-sudan"],"yoast_head":"\nMSF: The overlooked mental health crisis in South Sudan - South Sudan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/msf-the-overlooked-mental-health-crisis-in-south-sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MSF: The overlooked mental health crisis in South Sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – South-Sudan. In South Sudan, poverty, violence, and displacement can sometimes overshadow mental health issues. Neglected by the health system and confronted by deep-rooted stigma, many people face their mental health struggles in silence, enduring a daily battle that goes unseen and unheard. 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