ABOUT 1percent of Tanzanians are suffering from mental illness, although the government is yet to conduct a nation-wide survey to establish the number of affected people.
Deputy Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Faustine Ndugulile revealed this when responding to a supplementary question by Special Seats lawmaker, Kemilembe Lwota (CCM).
In her question, the MP said various studies conducted by different countries, including the United States, indicate that in every four people, one person has a mental illness.
In the UK, one person in every five people has such disorders while in Australia in every six people, one was sick.
“Honourable Mr Speaker, I hope you are a witness on this, because sometimes even in this house we ask ourselves if some people here are okay or not, that is why I want to know if the government has made any research to substantiate the level of madness in the country,’’ said the legislator.
Responding, Mr Ndugulile said it was true the issue of mental problems was continuing to escalate worldwide and that was why the World Health Organisation (WHO) was conducting studies on it.
“In Tanzania, we believe that in our community one per cent of the population have mental disorders and even in this house we are part of that percentage,’’ he noted, as many MPs bust into laughter.
However, the deputy minister said the government was yet to conduct a thorough research to substantiate the gravity of the problem.
During her main question, Special Seats MP, Fatma Tawfiq (CCM) said violence against women and children was still increasing in the country as she sought to know how the government was handling and treating the affected persons.
Dr Ndugulile said he was well aware of violence against women and children, insisting that the government had introduced 11 One Stop Centres in Dar es Salaam, Coast, Mbeya, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Shinyanga, Mwanza, Arusha and Simiyu regions to deal with the problem.
