A national mental health awareness campaign kicked off this week with a focus on shining a light on depression and suicide risks especially among children and adolescents. The aim is to draw attention to mental issues affecting young people, officials say. The drive was launched in Kigali Tuesday ahead of the World Mental Health Awareness Day, which is slated for October 10. The day will be marked under the theme, “There is hope after a diagnostic of a mental illness. Let’s seek care”. The national campaign, expected to run through December, is championed by Ministry of Health, along with UNICEF and Rwanda Education Board (REB). The drive comes after another campaign was conducted in June with a view to raise public awareness around mental health issues and related stigma. Dr Yvonne Kayiteshonga, the head of the mental health division at Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), said that most people with mental health problems don’t seek treatment. “One in five Rwandans has a mental problem but when it comes to the survivors of Genocide against Tutsis, the number increases three or four times,” she said. “Through this campaign, we hope to work with the media to raise awareness about these challenges.” She pointed out that psychologists were deployed to district health centres in an effort to reach out to all Rwandans with mental health problems. He said mental health conditions are covered by existing health insurance arrangements, including Mutuelle de Santé. Youth the main victims According to Julien Mahoro, the head of the health sector communications, the media has a big role to play in raising awareness about mental health. “Some of the risk factors include physical disability, losing a loved one, family conflicts, bullying and a history of substance abuse,” he said. Mahoro added, “We need to actively speak out against stigma and discrimination associated with mental health problems.” He noted that mental health issues are particularly affecting the youth, which explains why young people and adolescents are at the centre of the newly launched awareness drive. Creating space and platforms for people to openly discuss mental health problems will help tackle the challenges, potentially saving lives, he said. According to RBC, in Rwanda, young people are confronted with challenges such as abuse of their rights, as well as exposure to violence in homes, among other places. Dr Jean-Damascene Iyamuremye, the director of psychiatric care at RBC, said that while 20.5 per cent of Rwandans live with mental health disorders, more women are affected than men. Most victims are based in cities, he said. Most affected districts Statistics show Gasabo District has the highest rate of mental health problems in the country, at 36.7 per cent, followed by Huye and Gisagara. “We have been trying to help women with mental health problems by working with other stakeholders to provide them social support and psychotherapy,” he said. “For some people, poor living conditions is a risk factor for mental health problems, so we try to give them hope and show them how they can try to be more independent and improve their living conditions.” Iyamuremye pointed out that they also try to work with other players to follow up on teenage mothers going through hard times before they show signs of mental health problems. RBC has recently provided Bugesera District with an emergency response car designed to facilitate it to easily reach residents with mental health issues who struggle to travel to health centres. Officials say the plan is to extend similar support to other districts as well. RBC figures show that depression prevalence in Rwanda stands at 11.9 per cent in the general population, with 40-50 per cent recovering when they seek help. Statistics also show that depression increased in 2020 from 2602 to 3983 in 2021, with figures also showing a decline in alcohol and substance abuse in nearly two years since the Covid-19 outbreak. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) prevalence, at 3.6 per cent, is the second common mental health disorder in Rwanda. 75 per cent of those struggling with PTSD recover when they seek help.
