Improving Mental Health Care in Kenya

This quarter, we're sharing with you a recent article on the overall state of mental health in Kenya, and AMPATH's impact.  

The article was written by a German investigative reporter, Jakob Simmank, who spent time in Eldoret with AMPATH staff.  Here are a few exercepts and we encourage you to check out all 4 articles in his series! 

Thank you again for the support you provide to change the care received by those with mental illnesses in Kenya! 

"There is only one psychiatrist in Kenya per 500,000 people and the mentally ill are often locked up rather than treated. But there are paths out of the crisis."

"There are only an estimated 100 psychiatrists in the entire country, which means that each mental health expert is responsible for an average of a half-million people. The health-care gap in mental health is thus higher than in almost any other sector of clinical medicine."

"A trip through western Kenya, from the city of Nakuru via Eldoret and Turbo to the rural hinterlands, shows that in many places, there is a lack of knowledge, financial resources, trained experts and belief in psychological care. Despite the fact that mental illness is one of the most serious health care challenges in the world, millions of people in Kenya suffering from schizophrenia, epilepsy or depression have no access to adequate care. But the trip also demonstrates that the situation is improving."

https://www.zeit.de/wissen/gesundheit/2018-10/kenya-africa-mental-illness-psychiatrists-treatment-stigmatization-english

Links:

• Mental Health in Kenya article