The National Mental Health Program, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, recently organized an awareness forum for members of the National Assembly in The Gambia. The forum aimed to shed light on the Mental Health Bill 2019, which is yet to be enacted, and to rally support from lawmakers for its implementation.

Officials highlighted the pressing need for the bill, citing statistics from the World Health Organization’s Mental Improvement for Nations Development in 2007, which estimated that 120,000 Gambians suffer from mental illness, with only 3,000 receiving treatment annually. Additionally, it is reported that around 12% of the population in The Gambia is likely to have a mental disorder, with 3% classified as severe cases.

Dr. Momodou Nyassi, Deputy Director of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, emphasized that several factors contribute to mental health issues, including biological factors like trauma and abuse, as well as a family history of mental health problems.

Dr. Momodou Gassama, a health promotion specialist at the World Health Organization, called for a more holistic approach to addressing mental health in the country. He highlighted global disparities in mental health funding, with many countries allocating only a small fraction of their health budget to mental health services.

Bakary Kamara, the matron at the Tanka Tanka Psychiatric Hospital, stressed the seriousness of mental health issues, noting that there is no vaccine to cure the condition. Amadou Kamara, chairperson of the National Assembly Select Committee on Health, expressed his committee’s commitment to supporting mental health initiatives.

He emphasized that mental health is a cross-cutting issue that affects everyone and pledged to advocate for the enactment of the Mental Health Bill 2019. He also assured that the committee would work through the Ministry of Health and the health committee to address budgetary allocations for mental health programs.

At the conclusion of the forum, both parties agreed on the importance of enacting the Mental Health Bill 2019 and pledged to work closely to provide the necessary support to address mental health challenges in The Gambia.