Mental health clinics in violence-prone South Sudan are rare and endangered
'I wanted to take my children and jump in the river,' she said while cradling a baby outside a room with cracked mud walls where she now stays.
But she's made a remarkable recovery months later, thanks to the support of well-wishers and a mental health clinic nearby where she's received counseling since April.
She told The Associated Press that her suicidal thoughts are now gone after months of psycho-social therapy, even though she still struggles to feed her children and can't afford to keep them in school.
The specialized clinic in her hometown of Mundri, in South Sudan' s Western Equatoria state, is a rare and endangered facility in a country desperate for more such services. Now that the program's funding from Italian and Greek sources is about to end and its future is unclear.
The clinic is in one of eight locations chosen for a project that aimed to provide mental health services for the first time to over 20,000 people across this East African country. Launched in late 2022, it proved a lifeline for patients like Falatiya in a country where mental health services are almost non-existent in the government-run health system.
Implemented by a group of charities led by Amref Health Africa, the program has partnered with government health centers, Catholic parishes, local radio stations.
Across South Sudan, there has been massive displacement of people in the civil war that began in 2013 when government troops loyal to President Salva Kiir fought those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar.
The eruption of fighting was a major setback for the world's newest country, which became a major refugee-producing nation just over two years after independence from Sudan. Although a peace deal was reached in 2018, the resumption of hostilities since January led the UN to warn of a possible 'relapse into large scale conflict.'
The violence persists even today, with Machar under house arrest and government forces continuing with a campaign to weaken his ability to wage war. And poverty — over 90 percent of the country's people live on less than $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank — is rampant in many areas, adding to the mental health pressures many people face, according to experts.
In a country heavily dependent on charity to keep the health sector running, access to mental health services lags far behind. The country has the fourth-highest suicide rate in Africa and is ranked thirteenth globally, World Health Organization figures show.
In South Sudan, suicide affects mostly the internally displaced, fueled by confinement and pressures related to poverty, idleness, armed conflict, and gender-based violence, according to the International Organization for Migration.
'Mental health issues are a huge obstacle to the development of South Sudan,' said Jacopo Rovarini, an official with Amref Health Africa.
More than a third of those screened by the Amref project 'show signs of either psychological distress or mental health disorders,' he said. 'So the burden for the individuals, their families and their communities is huge in this country, and it has gone quite unaddressed so far.'
Last month, authorities in Juba raised an alarm after 12 cases of suicide were reported in just a week in the South Sudan capital. There were no more details on those cases.
Dr. Atong Ayuel Longar, one of South Sudan's very few psychiatrists and the leader of the mental health department at the health ministry, said a pervasive sense of 'uncertainty is what affects the population the most' amid the constant threat of war.
'Because you can't plan for tomorrow,' she said. 'Do we need to evacuate? People will be like, 'No, no, no, there's no war.' Yet you don't feel that sense of peace around you. Things are getting tough.'
In Mundri, the AP visited several mental health facilities in June and spoke to many patients, including women who have recently lost relatives in South Sudan's conflict. In 2015, the Mundri area was ravaged by fighting between opposition forces and government troops, leading to widespread displacement, looting and sexual violence.
Ten years later, many have not recovered from this episode and fear similar fighting could resume there.
'There are many mad people in the villages,' said Paul Monday, a local youth leader, using a common derogatory word for those who are mentally unwell. 'It's so common because we lost a lot of things during the war. We had to flee and our properties were looted.'
'In our community here, when you're mad you're abandoned,' Monday said.
As one of the charities seeking to expand mental health services, the Catholic non-governmental organization Caritas organizes sessions of Self Help Plus, a group-based stress management course launched by WHO in 2021. Attended mostly by women, sessions offer simple exercises they can repeat at home to reduce stress.
Longar, the psychiatrist, said she believes the community must be equipped with tools 'to heal and to help themselves by themselves, and break the cycle of trauma.'
But she worries about whether such support can be kept sustainable as funds continue to dwindle, reflecting the retreat by the United States from its once-generous foreign aid program.
The project that may have helped save Falatiya's life, funded until November by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and the Athens-based Stavros Niarchos Foundation, will come to an end without additional donor funding. Specialized mental health services provided at health centers such as the Mundri clinic may collapse.
'What happened to me in the past was very dangerous, but the thought of bad things can be removed,' Falatiya said, surveying a garden she cultivates outside her small home where a local man has allowed her to stay after taking pity on her.
She said that she hopes the clinic will still be around if and when her 'bad thoughts' return.
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Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Mental health clinics in violence-prone South Sudan are rare and endangered
MUNDRI: Joy Falatiya said her husband kicked her and five children out of their home in March 2024 and that she fell apart after that. Homeless and penniless, the 35-year-old South Sudanese mother said she thought of ending her life. 'I wanted to take my children and jump in the river,' she said while cradling a baby outside a room with cracked mud walls where she now stays. But she's made a remarkable recovery months later, thanks to the support of well-wishers and a mental health clinic nearby where she's received counseling since April. She told The Associated Press that her suicidal thoughts are now gone after months of psycho-social therapy, even though she still struggles to feed her children and can't afford to keep them in school. The specialized clinic in her hometown of Mundri, in South Sudan' s Western Equatoria state, is a rare and endangered facility in a country desperate for more such services. Now that the program's funding from Italian and Greek sources is about to end and its future is unclear. The clinic is in one of eight locations chosen for a project that aimed to provide mental health services for the first time to over 20,000 people across this East African country. Launched in late 2022, it proved a lifeline for patients like Falatiya in a country where mental health services are almost non-existent in the government-run health system. Implemented by a group of charities led by Amref Health Africa, the program has partnered with government health centers, Catholic parishes, local radio stations. Across South Sudan, there has been massive displacement of people in the civil war that began in 2013 when government troops loyal to President Salva Kiir fought those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar. The eruption of fighting was a major setback for the world's newest country, which became a major refugee-producing nation just over two years after independence from Sudan. Although a peace deal was reached in 2018, the resumption of hostilities since January led the UN to warn of a possible 'relapse into large scale conflict.' The violence persists even today, with Machar under house arrest and government forces continuing with a campaign to weaken his ability to wage war. And poverty — over 90 percent of the country's people live on less than $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank — is rampant in many areas, adding to the mental health pressures many people face, according to experts. In a country heavily dependent on charity to keep the health sector running, access to mental health services lags far behind. The country has the fourth-highest suicide rate in Africa and is ranked thirteenth globally, World Health Organization figures show. In South Sudan, suicide affects mostly the internally displaced, fueled by confinement and pressures related to poverty, idleness, armed conflict, and gender-based violence, according to the International Organization for Migration. 'Mental health issues are a huge obstacle to the development of South Sudan,' said Jacopo Rovarini, an official with Amref Health Africa. More than a third of those screened by the Amref project 'show signs of either psychological distress or mental health disorders,' he said. 'So the burden for the individuals, their families and their communities is huge in this country, and it has gone quite unaddressed so far.' Last month, authorities in Juba raised an alarm after 12 cases of suicide were reported in just a week in the South Sudan capital. There were no more details on those cases. Dr. Atong Ayuel Longar, one of South Sudan's very few psychiatrists and the leader of the mental health department at the health ministry, said a pervasive sense of 'uncertainty is what affects the population the most' amid the constant threat of war. 'Because you can't plan for tomorrow,' she said. 'Do we need to evacuate? People will be like, 'No, no, no, there's no war.' Yet you don't feel that sense of peace around you. Things are getting tough.' In Mundri, the AP visited several mental health facilities in June and spoke to many patients, including women who have recently lost relatives in South Sudan's conflict. In 2015, the Mundri area was ravaged by fighting between opposition forces and government troops, leading to widespread displacement, looting and sexual violence. Ten years later, many have not recovered from this episode and fear similar fighting could resume there. 'There are many mad people in the villages,' said Paul Monday, a local youth leader, using a common derogatory word for those who are mentally unwell. 'It's so common because we lost a lot of things during the war. We had to flee and our properties were looted.' 'In our community here, when you're mad you're abandoned,' Monday said. As one of the charities seeking to expand mental health services, the Catholic non-governmental organization Caritas organizes sessions of Self Help Plus, a group-based stress management course launched by WHO in 2021. Attended mostly by women, sessions offer simple exercises they can repeat at home to reduce stress. Longar, the psychiatrist, said she believes the community must be equipped with tools 'to heal and to help themselves by themselves, and break the cycle of trauma.' But she worries about whether such support can be kept sustainable as funds continue to dwindle, reflecting the retreat by the United States from its once-generous foreign aid program. The project that may have helped save Falatiya's life, funded until November by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and the Athens-based Stavros Niarchos Foundation, will come to an end without additional donor funding. Specialized mental health services provided at health centers such as the Mundri clinic may collapse. 'What happened to me in the past was very dangerous, but the thought of bad things can be removed,' Falatiya said, surveying a garden she cultivates outside her small home where a local man has allowed her to stay after taking pity on her. She said that she hopes the clinic will still be around if and when her 'bad thoughts' return.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Arab News
How Saudi Arabia is helping the developing world cook clean and breathe easy
RIYADH: In many parts of the world, the simple act of cooking dinner can be deadly. Across sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, millions of families rely on open fires and traditional stoves that burn wood, charcoal, or kerosene — methods that fill homes with toxic smoke, worsen environmental degradation, and contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. While such practices are rare in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom is taking a leading role in tackling this silent crisis abroad. With nearly 4 million premature deaths each year linked to indoor air pollution from cooking, the stakes could not be higher. According to the World Bank, traditional cooking fuels contribute 2 percent of all global carbon dioxide emissions and a staggering 58 percent of black carbon emissions — pollutants known to accelerate climate change and damage human health. The problem is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa, where the International Energy Agency says 960 million people — nearly three-quarters of the population — lack access to clean cooking alternatives. Globally, more than 2 billion people still cook using polluting methods, exposing themselves and their families to harmful smoke on a daily basis. 'A third of people on the planet lack access to clean fuels, instead cooking on polluting open fires or simple stoves fuelled by kerosene, biomass (wood, animal dung and crop waste) and coal,' according to the World Economic Forum. 'Inhaling these toxic fumes kills more people than malaria — and women are disproportionately affected.' • In many developing countries, women and children spend around 10 hours each week gathering firewood for household cooking. • Efficient stoves can cut fuel consumption by up to 60 percent, significantly lowering indoor pollution and carbon emissions. • The Clean Cooking Alliance says cleaner cooking technology reduces the risk and severity of respiratory illness in young children. The health risks are severe. The World Health Organization estimates that household air pollution from cooking causes respiratory infections, heart disease, stroke, and cancer — all leading to early mortality. 'Millions of people are dying of heart disease, stroke, cancer, pneumonia, because they still rely on dirty fuels and cooking technologies,' Dr. Maria Neira, director of the environment, climate change and health department at the WHO, told Equal Times. 'Women and children are particularly at risk. They spend most of their time in and around the home.' Beyond the human cost, the environmental toll is immense. Firewood and charcoal harvesting drive deforestation, while incomplete combustion releases methane and other potent greenhouse gases. The IEA estimates that expanding access to clean cooking solutions could eliminate up to 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions in just five years — and 900 million tons of that could come from sub-Saharan Africa alone. 'Provision of clean cooking for all is recognized as a critical cross-sectoral development issue,' Dr. Yabei Zhang of the World Bank Clean Cooking Fund said in a report for the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program. 'The potential societal benefits are enormous, particularly for public health, women's productivity and empowerment, and the environment.' To help bridge this gap, Saudi Arabia has stepped up. At the 2021 Future Investment Initiative, held shortly after the launch of the Middle East Green Initiative, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman unveiled plans for a $2 billion fund to provide clean cooking fuel to over 750 million people worldwide. 'This stems from the idea of creating a fund where we aim to mitigate health issues of people who use biomass to cook food,' he said, according to Saudi financial news outlet Argaam. This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field) That vision has since taken shape through various international projects to promote cooperation on sustainable fuel solutions. One of these is the Empowering Africa initiative, a Saudi program, announced during the MENA Climate Week conference in Riyadh in 2023, focused on providing clean energy, connectivity, e-health, and e-education solutions to communities across Africa. Launched by Saudi Arabia's Oil Sustainability Program with the support of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Health, the initiative builds on the Middle East Green Initiative's Clean Fuel Solutions for Cooking Program. It aims to improve lives and promote sustainable development in Africa by addressing energy access, digital inclusion, and healthcare challenges, and includes the provision of electric stoves to rural communities. The initiative reflects the Kingdom's commitment to tackling global environmental and social challenges, while fostering public engagement and strengthening international regulatory cooperation in the pursuit of a more sustainable future. While the road ahead is long, the message from Riyadh is clear: Clean cooking is not just a matter of convenience — it is a public health imperative, a climate solution, and a human right. And Saudi Arabia is determined to help light that fire.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
WHO Says Nearly 100,000 Struck with Cholera in Sudan
The World Health Organization on Thursday said nearly 100,000 cholera cases had been reported in Sudan since July last year, as it warned of more hunger, displacement and disease to come. Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has killed tens of thousands, said AFP. "In Sudan, unrelenting violence has led to widespread hunger, disease and suffering," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Cholera has swept across Sudan, with all states reporting outbreaks. Nearly 100,000 cases have been reported since July last year." Oral cholera vaccination campaigns had been conducted in several states, including the capital Khartoum, he told a press conference with the Geneva UN correspondents' association ACANU. "While we are seeing a declining trend in numbers, there are gaps in disease surveillance, and progress is fragile," he said. "Recent floods, affecting large parts of the country, are expected to worsen hunger and fuel more outbreaks of cholera, malaria, dengue and other diseases." Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that spreads through food and water contaminated with bacteria, often from feces. It causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and muscle cramps. Cholera can kill within hours when not attended to, though it can be treated with simple oral rehydration, and antibiotics for more severe cases. There has been a global increase in cholera cases, and their geographical spread, since 2021. Malnutrition As for hunger, Tedros said there were reports from El-Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state, that people were eating animal feed to survive. Across the country, millions are going hungry and around 770,000 children under five years old are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year. "In the first six months of this year, nutrition centers supported by WHO have treated more than 17,000 severely malnourished children with medical complications. But many more are beyond reach," Tedros warned. The UN health agency's efforts were being held back by limited access and a lack of funding, he added, with the WHO having received less than a third of the money it has appealed for to provide urgent health assistance in Sudan. The WHO director-general said that as long as the violence continues in Sudan, "we can expect to see more hunger, more displacement and more disease".
