The Sunday Mail
Loverage Nhamoyebonde
Sharon (not her real name) was born in a small village in the communal lands of Guruve. The girl, now 18 years old, suffered from mental illness since childhood.
Community members blamed the parents of the young woman for the illness because they state that they are responsible. How?
One of the villagers, who preferred anonymity, said the parents are responsible because they are using the girl for ritual purposes to gather wealth.
“We suspect that the mental illness was induced into the girl through rituals so that the girl will be used in boosting their agricultural output. These people till a small piece of land, but they harvest large quantities not equivalent to the portion of land and we suspect that such rare phenomenon is linked to the mentally challenged girl,” he said.
In that same village there is a young man aged 34 who is also mentally challenged and he was not spared the myths connected with mental illness.
Villagers view the young man as a goblin being worshipped and used for the wellbeing of the family members.
“This man was turned into a goblin and the family members worshipped him and they use him during the night in the fields and gardens. You can see that the family is prospering and this man is behind all their riches,” said another villager.
These villagers narrated these issues with confidence as their ideas were influenced by myths surrounding mental illness.
Many people associate mental illness with avenging spirits, witchcraft and demons. The state of affairs has contributed to serious discrimination that has visited many people suffering from mental illness abandoned in both rural and urban areas.
Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr David Parirenyatwa, said there was rampant stigma and discrimination affecting people suffering from mental illness.
“Historically, mental disorders have been always frowned upon by society and there was a lot of stigma. Some derogatory terms used to hurl insults like uri benzi (you are insane) were used and it is really a stigmatising word.
“Traditionally, we were stigmatising our people and with the knowledge that we now possess, we must embrace people with mental illness,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
Dr Parirenyatwa said people still laugh when they saw someone half naked on the streets and there is a need for people with the knowledge they now have to be able to go out into communities and that is why community mental health services are very important.
“Stigma, shame and exclusion were major challenges that we must close ranks on,” he said.
The minister acknowledged that culturally persons with mental illness were and they are still receiving very little attention.
“We have not been able in this ministry to put as much emphasis on mental illness like we have done on malaria, HIV/Aids and others. Maybe it is a question of prioritising, but this is a major priority,” he said.
Zimbabwe launched the Mental Health Policy in 2004. The Health Ministry felt it could be improved upon and recently launched a National Strategic Plan for Mental Health (2014-2018).
“This strategy is a document which guides the implementation of the mental health policy. Although the mental policy is 10 years old, we must implement it and that is why we need a strategy. I am glad that we are now moving towards the implementation,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
When the Mental Health Policy was launched, the Zimbabwe National Association for Mental Health welcomed it but said it was only a statement of intent without a solid programme of action.
And ten years after the launch of the Mental Health Policy, it was clear that it was not being properly implemented, hence the 2014-2018 National Strategic Plan for Mental Health Services.
The 65th World Health Assembly on May 25, 2012 focused on the global burden of mental disorders and the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response from the health and social sectors at the country level.
According to resolution WHA55.10, member states were urged to increase investments in mental health, both within countries and in bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as an integral component of the well-being of populations.
United Nations General Assembly resolution 65/95, recognised that mental health problems are of major importance to all societies and are significant contributors to the burden of disease and the loss of quality of life, and have huge economic and social costs.
World Health Organisation report on mental health and development highlighted the lack of appropriate attention to mental health and made the case for governments and development actors to reach out to people with mental disorders in the design of strategies and programmes that include those people in education, employment, health, social protection and poverty reduction policies.
