According to Soraya Ribeiro, municipal health director of Moçâmedes, the center should start operating in December. Speaking to Angop, the person in charge said that, with the works already in the final stages, the aforementioned center will allow patients with mental disorders, especially young people, to be monitored.
Located in the Forte Santa-Rita neighborhood, in Moçâmedes, the unit will consist of 12 beds for the hospitalization of patients with a more advanced diagnosis. According to Angop, the operation of the center, in the first phase, will be carried out by three doctors and 13 nurses, under the guidance of psychologists.
The director recognized that raising awareness among the community has led citizens to be more informed about the disease, having indicated stress as one of the culprits of mental illnesses. "Those who are not mentally healthy do not have good health. Mental well-being is important for our families and our workplace", she considered, speaking to Angop.
It should be noted that, at this moment, Namibe has taken mental patients to Huíla, in order to receive follow-up care.
Already putting psychiatric illnesses in numbers, according to Massoxi Vigário, coordinator of the Mental Health Program, in the last three years, a total of 359,579 citizens with mental disorders received care in national units.
According to the person responsible, this is an alarming number, as it has been growing. Thus, as an example, she said that in the Luanda psychiatric hospital alone, 381 patients between the ages of 15 and 55 are currently hospitalized.
In her opinion, there is a clear concern regarding the mental health scenario in Angola, which ends up encouraging the emergence of other diseases considered organic, namely hypertension, diabetes, etc. Thus, among other aspects, the coordinator, in statements to Angop, considered that describing mental health in the country "is saying that we are facing a silent pandemic in which the impact is shown by health units".
This Tuesday, October 10th – which marked World Mental Health Day –, the Secretary of State for Public Health, Carlos Alberto Pinto de Sousa, defended "actions to promote and protect mental health". Speaking at the 11th Child and Youth Mental Health Conference, the person responsible "considered the event as a cause common to all people, overcoming national, cultural, political or socio-economic barriers", reads a note from MINSA, the that VerAngola had access to.
