prevalence of mental illness
Commenting on the subject, Muhammad Al-Broudi, a psychologist and specialist in addiction treatment, said that the most common psychological and mental illnesses consist mainly of cases of depression, psychological anxiety and pathological fear, in addition to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The expert believes that this situation calls for great efforts to help the mentally ill, as well as to advance the field of psychological and mental health in Morocco, starting with filling the shortage of human resources in government hospitals.
The expert cites, for example, the availability of the private sector for only two centers in the city of Casablanca, knowing that it is the largest city in the country, while those who enter them need to pay a cost that is described as exorbitant and difficult for people with limited income.
The pandemic has exacerbated the situation
Muhammad Al-Broudi revealed, in an interview with the site "Sky News Arabia"The spread of the Corona pandemic in 2020 exacerbated the mental health situation of Moroccans and demonstrated the urgent need for the state to pay attention to the field of mental and mental health, as remote psychological support cells were established by the Ministry of Health, as well as some associations working in the field of mental health.
And I want that these campaigns came to confront the alarming rise in panic attacks and fear of the spread of the virus, in addition to the anxiety disorder and psychological stress caused by the living conditions experienced by some needy families, as well as the average, due to the changes brought about by the quarantine.
An alarming shortage of doctors
In light of the numbers revealed by the report, the addiction treatment specialist pointed out the severe shortage of human resources in the field of mental health.
He commented: "The matter is getting more complicated, as the latest figures reveal that our country has only 454 psychiatrists, in addition to the presence of only about 40 specialists in addiction medicine, in addition to that, about 124 psychiatrists, and no more than 50 specialists in child psychiatry.".
These shocking data and numbers, according to the expert, do not correspond to the population density of more than 35 million Moroccans, which requires urgent intervention and a comprehensive review regarding the management of human resources in the field of mental health and an increase in the number of medical and nursing staff and psychologists in psychiatric and mental hospitals, as well as psychiatric services. Addiction medicine centers units.
He pointed out that the reality of the number of beds in psychiatric and mental illness hospitals in Morocco does not exceed 2,431 beds, distributed throughout the country, in addition to the great shortage in psychiatric and mental illness hospitals in Morocco, whose number remains limited compared to the total population.
social stigma
With regard to the social stigmatization of mentally ill patients, the speaker stressed that it constitutes a real dilemma "We need to fight it and carry out awareness campaigns, whether through official or private media, in its various visual, audio and written platforms.".
The Moroccan Ministry of Health organized a campaign to combat the stigmatization of mental patients, by launching the national campaign, which extended for 10 days last October.
In this regard, Mohamed El-Broudi called on actors and those interested in the field of mental and mental health, as well as professionals, to actively participate in all seriousness in this momentum launched by the Moroccan Ministry of Health, through introductory publications on mental and mental illness, and to combat all forms of discrimination and racism that affect mental and mental patients.
He added that Moroccan universities should also contribute to combating the phenomenon of social stigmatization of mental illness, by intensifying national and international seminars and meetings across the Kingdom to improve the situation of mentally ill patients and raise awareness of their pain and the suffering of their families.
The same call was made by the Social, Economic and Environmental Council through its study, as it stressed the need to improve the quality of psychological and mental care provided to patients, and the need to keep pace with the development of knowledge and treatments, and to respond to the special needs of patients, especially those related to age, social and economic status, lifestyle and forms of vulnerability that they suffer from.
Recently disclosed data showed that nearly half of Moroccans have suffered from disorders at some point in their lives.
This percentage is total because it includes those who suffer from mental disorders at the present time, in addition to those who have previously suffered from them, at an earlier stage.
The Social, Economic and Environmental Council (a governmental body) revealed that the national survey of the population aged 15 years and over showed that 48.9 percent of Moroccans suffer or have previously suffered from a psychological or mental disorder at some point in their lives.
The Council highlighted that the state’s budgetary allocations for mental health, during the year 2021, did not exceed 2 percent, and the number of beds for treating mentally ill patients amounted to 2,431 beds.
prevalence of mental illness
Commenting on the subject, Muhammad Al-Broudi, a psychologist and specialist in addiction treatment, said that the most common psychological and mental illnesses consist mainly of cases of depression, psychological anxiety and pathological fear, in addition to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The expert believes that this situation calls for great efforts to help the mentally ill, as well as to advance the field of psychological and mental health in Morocco, starting with filling the shortage of human resources in government hospitals.
The expert cites, for example, the availability of the private sector for only two centers in the city of Casablanca, knowing that it is the largest city in the country, while those who enter them need to pay a cost that is described as exorbitant and difficult for people with limited income.
The pandemic has exacerbated the situation
Mohamed El-Broudi revealed, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, that the spread of the Corona pandemic in 2020 exacerbated the mental health situation of Moroccans and demonstrated the urgent need for the state to pay attention to the field of mental and mental health, as psychological support cells were established remotely by the Ministry of Health. Health, as well as some associations working in the field of mental health.
And I want that these campaigns came to confront the alarming rise in panic attacks and fear of the spread of the virus, in addition to the anxiety disorder and psychological stress caused by the living conditions experienced by some needy families, as well as the average, due to the changes brought about by the quarantine.
An alarming shortage of doctors
In light of the numbers revealed by the report, the addiction treatment specialist pointed out the severe shortage of human resources in the field of mental health.
He commented, “The matter is getting more and more complicated, as the latest figures reveal that our country has only 454 psychiatrists, in addition to the presence of only about 40 specialists in addiction medicine, in addition to that, about 124 psychologists, and no more than 50 specialists in child psychiatry.”
These shocking data and figures, according to the expert, do not correspond to the population density of more than 35 million Moroccans, which requires urgent intervention and a comprehensive review regarding the management of human resources in the field of mental health and an increase in the number of medical and nursing staff and psychologists in psychiatric and mental hospitals, as well as psychiatric services. Addiction medicine centers units.
He pointed out that the reality of the number of beds in psychiatric and mental illness hospitals in Morocco does not exceed 2,431 beds, distributed throughout the country, in addition to the great shortage in psychiatric and mental illness hospitals in Morocco, whose number remains limited compared to the total population.
social stigma
With regard to the social stigmatization of mental patients, the spokesman stressed that it constitutes a real dilemma, “we need to fight it and carry out awareness campaigns, whether through official or private media, in its various visual, audio and written platforms.”
The Moroccan Ministry of Health organized a campaign to combat the stigmatization of mental patients, by launching the national campaign, which extended for 10 days last October.
In this regard, Mohamed El-Broudi called on actors and those interested in the field of mental and mental health, as well as professionals, to actively participate in all seriousness in this momentum launched by the Moroccan Ministry of Health, through introductory publications on mental and mental illness, and to combat all forms of discrimination and racism that affect mental and mental patients.
He added that Moroccan universities should also contribute to combating the phenomenon of social stigmatization of mental illness, by intensifying national and international seminars and meetings across the Kingdom to improve the situation of mentally ill patients and raise awareness of their pain and the suffering of their families.
The same call was made by the Social, Economic and Environmental Council through its study, as it stressed the need to improve the quality of psychological and mental care provided to patients, and the need to keep pace with the development of knowledge and treatments, and to respond to the special needs of patients, especially those related to age, social and economic status, lifestyle and forms of vulnerability that they suffer from.