Don’t call mental patients mad â€"â€" health official

Jun 07, 2005

A LEADING psychiatrist has asked the media and public to stop referring to mentally ill persons as mad.

By Fred Ouma

A LEADING psychiatrist has asked the media and public to stop referring to mentally ill persons as mad.

Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi, the principal medical officer in charge of mental health at the ministry of health, said this while closing a media dialogue at Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala recently. She said nick names like zonto, kazolite, waya, fala and mulalu were discriminatory and made mentally ill people feel stigmatised by society.

The dialogue, aimed at exploring the role of the media in educating communities about mental health, was organised by Basic Needs Uganda, a sister organisation to a UK-based organisation committed to develop mental health.

Christina Ntulo, the Basic Needs programme manager, said ill people were often beaten, chained, denied food, sexually abused and even abandoned in urban centres to fend for themselves.

Quoting the 2004 ministry of health Baseline Survey, Ndyanabangi said 20.3% of the population in the study group had suffered stress while 13.5% attempted to commit suicide.

The survey was conducted in the 13 districts of north and northeastern Uganda including Bushenyi, Mubende and Iganga.

According to survey, the main causes of mental illnesses were witchcraft, economic hardship and the abuse of alcohol.

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