Human rights and psychiatric care in Africa with particular reference to the Ethiopian situation

Around 700 million people are estimated to live in the continent of Africa. The majority live far from health facilities and are short of basic supplies. Most African people believe that diseases in general, and mental illness in particular, are afflictions caused by supernatural evil forces. Traditional methods are preferred sources of help for health problems by most people in the continent. Modern psychiatric services are far from adequate. The available asylums are located in the capital cities and very few patients have access to them. There is no mental health legislation in some African countries. In Ethiopia, where the population is 55 million, there is only one mental hospital; and a total of 390 beds for psychiatric inpatients. There are 11 psychiatrists in the country. In the regions of the country, mental health services are provided by psychiatric nurses. Patients usually come to medical services having tried the available local means. Psychotic patients almost always are forced to come to the mental hospital by their families, friends, neighbours, work-mates (and very seldom by the police). Consent is not usually required to initiate treatment or admit such patients. Alleged offenders, who come to the hospital for assessment, stay in the same ward as other patients. Armed prison guards assigned to watch the prisoners also stay in the same room with the prisoners. Care providing procedures in Ethiopia do not seem to be in accordance with the declarations of human rights. However, in a country where the economy cannot provide its citizens with basic needs for survival, it is unlikely that the standard of mental health care will change much in the foreseeable future.