In this sense, in 2021, the internship of medical specialty in psychiatry was started, with a view to reinforcing the number of specialists in this field, advanced the Secretary of State, who, quoted by Angop, also considered it necessary to control mental disorders, which among 2019 and 2020, affected close to a billion people in the world, of which 14 percent were teenagers.
Without specifying numbers in the country, the official also referred that "suicide was responsible for more than one in every 100 deaths, 58 percent occurred before the age of 50", having also pointed "to child sexual abuse and intimidation as causes of depression".
The official also said that citizens "with serious mental health conditions" die on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population. "People with serious mental health conditions die on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population, mainly due to preventable physical illnesses", he said, quoted in a note from the Ministry of Health, which VerAngola had access to.
The Secretary of State also took the opportunity to appeal for "greater commitment" from professionals in patient care. "The Secretary of State also appealed for a greater commitment by psychologists in caring for and assisting the sick, with the aim of not leaving anyone behind", reads the statement from the guardianship.
The official was speaking within the scope of the launching of the Guiding Manual of Clinical Psychology and Health of Primary Care at Tertiary level, whose ceremony took place this Tuesday, at Mediateca de Luanda.
The manual – released by the ministry – comprises 283 pages, with the support of 24 authors for its elaboration, according to the ministry's note.
"The manual is a support tool for specialists in clinical psychology to intensify primary care at the tertiary level", the statement reads.
Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF were present at the launch, "who will contribute to increasing the printing and distribution of the manual throughout the country", completes the statement.
