10 October 2008
Luanda — The regional director for Africa of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Angolan Luís Gomes Sambo, this Friday affirmed that, in the continent, the number of people with mental health problems, neurological perturbations or with disturbances relating to the abuse of substances continues rising.
This increase, he stated, results from various factors and especially to the consequences of infectious and parasite diseases, of foodstuff origin or risk factors, such as the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, on one hand, and to long-lasting psychological traumas caused by natural disasters, wars and extreme poverty, on the other hand.
According to Gomes Sambo's message on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day, marked this Friday, besides this, the population's limited access to health centres delays the diagnosis and cares they need, this way worsening the effects of such problems on health, in general, and on mental health, in particular.
It is estimated at 10 million people suffer from epilepsy; more than 34 million people consume cannabis; and 25 to 30 percent of all hospitalisation cases in some countries with updated statistics are directly or indirectly caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
This year, the theme of the World Mental Health Day is "Making mental health a global priority: Scaling up services through citizen advocacy and action", is part of the concerns of the WHO, in general, and of the regional headquarters for Africa, in particular.
This annual celebration that dates back to 1948 is a brilliant example of the partnership between the World Mental Health Federation and the World Health Federation.
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