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- Pain Hassoun
- Arab BBC – London
Published image, Aya
Doctors Mab and Aya in radio interview to raise awareness about mental health
Sudanese doctor Moab Khaled was not surprised to receive a tweet on Twitter with nearly 3,000 likes when a report was announced saying: ‘For the first time in the history of Sudan, mental health will be included in health insurance ‘.
She has received many comments blessing this good, and many inquiries on the subject at the same time.
Even those who are unaware of the possibility of social stigma if they resort to psychotherapy, may not be able to afford the costs of treatment and continue the sessions.
Therefore, psychological treatment is considered a “luxury and luxury” in Sudan due to the low income of the majority of Sudanese, which is offset by the inflation of the prices of all goods and services, including the fees of psychiatrists. , says Mab, who is 25.
We did not find this news about free psychological treatment published in local media. The office of the director general of the Health Insurance Authority in Khartoum, Muhammad Hajj Hamad, explained the reason for not speaking to the local media, “because the plan is not complete with all its elements and has not yet been implemented. ” He also added that this news He may not receive much local attention.
Consultation “without the parents’ knowledge”
Among the groups that sought to achieve this level of interest and acceptance of psychotherapy in society, the initiative of the three female doctors was: Mab, Aya and Khadija.
After Mab had a personal experience at the age of twenty, she and her two friends started a mental illness awareness initiative, which started with college students and then continued on. After the company fought the revolution of December 2018, these three young women have a role to play in drafting the mental health plan for the country in which the revolution has changed many concepts and priorities.
The idea of the initiative, launched by MAB in 2016, is to connect patients with volunteer psychologists in several states to provide free services to patients. The majority of the consultations they received were from students in their 20s with family and emotional issues and issues with academic achievement, as well as women facing issues with their husbands.
All three doctors have spoken on radio and television to encourage people to contact them and get support through free phone consultations or meeting with the doctor at the clinic – if possible.
Mab says the number of volunteer psychologists has reached twenty; As for the number of beneficiaries of the initiative’s services, it reached 10,000 people between 2016 and 2020.
Aya Abdeen, a cousin of Maab and her partner in the initiative, explains this small number of beneficiaries of the free service due to the prevailing mentality. “Regardless of the level of awareness and degrees, there are customs that govern society. ‘What would people say to us if they knew ‘ The common belief is that a visit from a therapist can affect a person’s future at work and their chances of getting married. Therefore, we find that many young people contact us without the knowledge of parents. “
Revolution and psychological pressure
Published image, Ma’ab Khalid
Immortal
The stories Sudanese tell about the lofty spirit that has flooded sit-ins in Sudan since the December 19 revolution continue to reveal a lot about the changes that have already started in the heart of these places.
“During the period of the revolution, we used to exhale our anger by shouting in processions (demonstrations) and get rid of the negative energy. But the change started after the revolution … after the arrests. We realized the psychological harm and the harm, so we offered our services free, “she told the BBC. .
Moab was residing in Khartoum at the time, but Aya was living in Medani.
The verse recalls the “great change” I observed during those sit-in days.
“People were united. During the sit-in, we felt that the society was different. Some families brought food and fruit juices with them to distribute to those present. Mobile clinics spread. initiatives have taken care of homeless children. Much has changed, including the support of the population for some. “
The “general command sit-in dispersal” incident, meaning that Sudanese security forces stormed a sit-in in front of the defense ministry building in the capital, Khartoum, in June 2019, was a watershed not only politically, but in many aspects of Sudanese life, including concerns for mental health, especially for those who He witnessed these violent events.
Aya, a specialist in the field of health psychology, says she has worked with several people who have suffered from PTSD – including one who “survived more than once.”
“During the sit-in, he was among the guards at one of the entrances to the sit-in squares – that is, the first line of defense. He lost a number of his friends in the one of the attacks. He also went through many very painful situations of murder and rape in front of his eyes. He told me things that he saw that he could not forget. He suffered from PTSD and I worked with him to get over it. “
During this period, the women doctors contacted several bodies, such as associations and international organizations, to provide them with medicines. They also obtained donations from Sudanese living abroad and the number of volunteers increased with them.
Free treatment for most residents of Khartoum
Published image, Aya
Aya in one of the sit-ins
At these sit-ins, Mab met doctor Muhannad Muhammad Hamed, who was part of the Sudanese Professional Association, and a member of the Central Committee of Doctors who appeared during the protests. After the sit-in dispersed, and due to the increased need for psychologists to step in to provide support, Muhannad contacted those responsible for the initiative to provide the team with free treatment for the needy, and the question s ‘is transformed into cooperation and reflection on a better future for psychological care in Sudan.
Muhannad, who joined the management team of the Khartoum State Health Insurance Authority, said: “Thanks to the friendship that brought me together with those responsible for the initiative, I started to look at the field of mental health in a different way. I have aroused interest in this area. I took the plan that I had prepared with the MAB and started to implement it at the level of public health. Khartoum … he and his group formed the features and the basis of the plan. “
The office of Muhammad Haj Hamad, director general of the Health Insurance Authority in Khartoum, explains that the current law (since the era of the previous regime) relating to health insurance includes physical and psychological treatment, but it does not ‘is not enforced and the institutions are not bound by it, so the current work is focused on reforming and activating this law and changing fees. Note that it is binding on all citizens of Khartoum.
He explains that their work currently covers 78% of the citizens of Khartoum and that the goal is to achieve universal coverage by 2025.
I ask: why does it not include the entire population of Khartoum? The answer was the need for a new demographic survey to get accurate statistics on the population of Sudan in general, and also due to the dissolution of some institutions that existed during the time of the previous regime.
When implementing this new plan, all that a citizen has to pay when receiving psychological treatment is only a quarter of the price of the drug.
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