SA faces a mental health crisis. And yet mental healthcare continues to be allocated only 5% of the national public health budget, which is itself declining in real terms, writesIn the face of a mental health pandemic in South Africa, the share of the national public health budget allocated to mental healthcare is not only woefully inadequate but could be better invested in prevention and care at primary healthcare and community level.
Common and treatable mental health disorders have overtaken physical illnesses and injuries as the leading cause of medical disability claims in South Africa. Treatment rates fell due to lack of access to mental healthcare facilities during lockdowns and patients may have had relapses, while those who did not previously experience mental health problems now find themselves with anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.
Insufficient attention to the mental health needs of expectant and new mothers, and of children and adolescents, suggests that the prevalence of mental illness is likely higher than indicated in surveys.
_Business Haaha. Mental health..Is this perhaps the reason for all the crime?
_Business It's a disgrace!!!
_Business Hambani niyothwasa niyeke ama mental health budget.