By Onyeka Oruonyehu 

Three weeks after Ebony gave birth to her first child, she started feeling sad, anxious, tired, and having mood swings. At first, she explained her emotional condition as stress-related, but her condition worsened when she thought of hurting the baby. This prompted the young mother to seek help from her family, who also struggled to understand what she was going through.

Ebony told AMAKA that she was diagnosed with Postpartum depression (PPD), a mood disorder associated with childbirth.

"In just a few weeks, I went from being a happy mother to a woman who regretted having a child. However, the most daunting challenge I faced during the period was getting the adequate help I needed because of the misconceptions about mental health care in my country Liberia," she said.

Ebony's experience highlights the challenges some Africans face, especially women dealing with mental health issues, where most governments spend less than 1% of their allocated health budget on mental care.

However, besides poor government support, this article examines other barriers frequently hindering access to mental care services in Africa. 

The scope of mental health in this piece refers to the state of well-being in which the individual realizes their abilities, can cope with the everyday stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to their community.

Traditional Beliefs

Cultural practices and traditional beliefs are damaging to the development of mental health on the continent. In some parts of Africa, deep-rooted traditional beliefs suggest that mental health conditions such as stress, anxiety, depression, or psychosis only occur in people who are weak, possessed by evil spirits, or suffering attacks from witches. 

Due to these widespread misconceptions, people on the continent who face mental health challenges do not get the adequate attention they deserve. 

Ebony disclosed that some family members advised her to seek help from faith healers during her postpartum depression. The mother of two said she only sought medical care from professionals after her family had spent a huge amount of money paying religious men to pray for her condition to improve without success.

Socio-economic Factors

Socio-economic factors such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality hinder basic mental care in Africa. Inadequate socio-economic conditions, often brought about by bad leadership and corruption, make it challenging for individuals to afford essential mental health services or prioritize their mental well-being over immediate survival needs. 

People with lower socio-economic status and higher income inequality are more likely to fall into a hostile environment, have negative emotions, and suffer from potential stress, all of which affect their health negatively.

Stigma and Discrimination 

The stigma surrounding mental health care is prevalent in many African societies, and discussing mental health is mainly taboo in Africa. The stigma about mental illness in many African societies prevents individuals from acknowledging their condition, seeking help, or adhering to treatment, thereby exacerbating mental health problems.

Lack of Mental Health Policies

Promoting mental health is one of the least prioritized issues on the continent. Authorities in African countries devote little or no financial support to mental health care. There is also a lack of policies to promote or encourage mental health services in the region. Mental health is not a popular subject in Africa, and few higher education facilities are teaching about it. 

For instance, research by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that Nigeria's mental health system governance is weak and fraught with challenges. The study also found that Nigeria's legislative and institutional framework for mental health lacks mental health programs in the critical health sector documents at the state and national levels.

Conflict and Political Instability

Prolonged periods of conflict, political instability, and violence in many African regions have led to mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression for residents in affected areas.

An example is the current armed conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people and the displacement of over 100,000 individuals. 

Others are the dominance of insurgents and bandits in some communities across Nigeria and the Chad region.

These conflicts have negatively impacted the mental health of many Sudanese women subjected to sexual violence by the warring groups.

In regions that experience prolonged conflicts, there is a high risk of humanitarian crises that weaken the support systems and tend to exacerbate pre-existing health problems – including mental health, social inequality, and poverty.

Limited Access to Care

Accessibility to mental healthcare services in many African countries remains a widespread challenge for Ebony and other women needing care. In cases where mental health care is available, it is often only located in urban areas, making it difficult for people in rural areas to access care. A finding by WHO identified significant gaps in Ghana's mental health care, where only about 2% of Ghana's 2.3 million people living with mental health conditions receive treatment and support from health facilities. Not much can be said about other African countries.