In South Sudan, Widespread Trauma Following Wars But Little Access To Mental Health Care

Al Jazeera: In South Sudan, stigma and underfunding plague mental health care
“…South Sudan suffered two civil wars before it won independence from Sudan in 2011, and is only now regaining its footing from its own civil war that lasted from 2013 until 2018. The country’s three practicing psychiatrists and 29 psychologists are all in Juba. … The Juba Teaching Hospital is the only public medical facility that provides psychiatric care; the availability of psychotropic drugs is inconsistent and limited. If the 12-bed ward is full, or if a patient is not eligible to take a bed, the mentally ill are often detained in Juba’s Central Prison…” (Bauomy, 1/18).

IRIN: South Sudan: “The whole country is traumatized”
“…The government, reeling from the day-to-day fallout of the war and political dysfunction, offers little to no support. … Less than two percent of nationwide funding is put towards the health sector, and no money is specifically allocated for mental health services, according to Dr. Felix Lado Johnson, the state minister of health in Juba…” (Mednick, 1/21).

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