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Mental health experts have warned that the country is faced with a growing number of people suffering from serious mental disorder linked to disasters such as the recent sinking of Mv Skagit, Gongo la Mboto and Mbagala bomb blasts.
The experts’ major concern is that these sufferers have been neglected. They fear that although such calamities have left horrifying memories in the minds of the survivors, the looming mental health crisis caused by their experiences are either not fully understood or neglected. For the past few decades, Tanzania has been among countries that have been hugely exposed to calamities whose cost in terms of human life and infrastructure is frightening.
The sinking of Mv Skagit last week and that of Mv Spice Islander in September last year, which altogether claimed nearly 400 lives, the 2009 Mbagala bomb blasts and the 2010 Gongo la Mboto bomb blast and last years devastating floods in Dar es Salaam and other parts of the country are some of the disasters that have wretched the minds and souls of many people.
The experts say people who have been exposed to such experiences are at a great risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) later in life.
According to Professor Gad Kilonzo of the Psychiatry Department at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), the number of PTSD cases has been on the increase in recent years.
“Principally, in the communities we live in, the incidence of psychological trauma is high. We never used to have many patients with that condition 10 or 15 years ago, but with the recent increase in accidents, disasters, tribal and pastoral conflicts, we are receiving more patients now than ever before.”
''By the way, it is not very easy to diagnose psychological trauma, but what I can say is that the incidence of the condition goes up with the increase in traumatising incidents like the disasters we experience these days.”
Victims of PTSD develop persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal in flashbacks and hallucinations. They experience sleep problems, are easily startled and feel emotionally numb especially with people they were once close to.
The condition was one of the most widely discussed mental disorders at a recent conference of mental health expert from around the world in Dar es Salaam, who discussed the psychological impact of disasters in Africa.
The conference was organised by Peter C. Alderman Foundation (PCAF) in collaboration with MUHAS, the Mental Health Association of Tanzania (MEHATA), and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
Tanzania is not immune to the problem, local experts said. Having been hit by a chilling catalogue of disasters, the country is home to a good number people who still harbour deep invisible wounds of the frightening events in their psyches — a major factor that leads to PTSD.
31-year old Fatuma Juma, a resident of Gongo la Mboto is one of them. The mother of two was the first in her family to witness the deadly explosions emanating from the Gongo la Mboto military depot on the night of February last year when the bombs went off accidentally, killing over 26 people and leaving dozens of others injured
One year down the line, the horrors of the frightening night and the losses they incurred as a family, still linger on in her memories Fatuma’s memories.
“I almost run mad every time I recall that night,” she said while looking at what remained of their house that had been reduced to rubble.
According to her husband, Mr Maulid Mdeka, 54, Fatuma’s personality has changed greatly after the bomb blasts.
“She used to be a jolly woman but weeks after the bombs, she started to behave strangely’’, he told The Citizen in an interview last week.
“These days, she at times stares at me and the children for long without uttering a word. At other times, she just keeps mum the whole day,’’ added Mr Mdeka, a retired prison officer who denies he has been psychologically by the bomb blasts. Although Fatuma has symptoms suggesting she might succumb to PTSD, Mdeka, her husband, is less likely to develop the condition as various studies indicate that more women than men are likely to develop PTSD.
In a clinical case study presented at the conference, where a 17-year old girl who had been rescued after an overnight ship capsized in Zanzibar last year, mental health workers demonstrated how it is possible to convert a severely traumatised mentally ill patient to a normal individual.
Researchers findings from MUHAS and University of Manitoba, Canada, explain that the girl – who had reported to a mental health clinic with signs of PTSD, was unable to remember her past, she could not know what was going on around her but later, after a series of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) –restoring personality through influencing thinking to change behaviour, her normal personality was restored.
Some research papers presented at the conference underscored the need for mass publicity of the mental health disorders like PTSD in our communities as well as the need to empower mental health professionals with the necessary skills to handle such patients.
In his paper titled: ‘Mental Health Professionals Role in PSTD publicity’, Prof MB Sebit of MUHAS said the outcome of the bombings in Dar - es - Salaam should be an opportunity to educate the public about trauma-related symptoms and where to seek help.
The paper argued that the Tanzania’s mental health care facilities were not sufficient to cater for country’s population of 40 million.
Another study suggested that tracking down those who have experienced trauma in our communities and identifying those with symptoms of PSTD, was a good way to deal with the condition.
The conference also proposed heavy investment in mental health as strategy to help reduce the burden of diseases in the developing world where infectious diseases like malaria, Aids and tuberculosis are taking their toll on the country’s overstretched health facilities.
It is estimated that one billion people around the world have directly experienced torture, terrorism or mass violence. The majority of those who survive develop traumatic depression — a condition that may render them unable to work, care for themselves or tend their families when it gets severe.
