- Pain Hassoun
- BBC Arabic – London
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January 9, 2021
Image Released, Aya
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Doctors Mab and Aya during a radio interview to spread awareness about mental health
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The Sudanese doctor, Moab Khaled, was not surprised that she received a tweet on Twitter with nearly 3,000 likes when announcing a news story saying: ‘For the first time in the history of Sudan, mental health will be included in health insurance ‘.
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She received many comments blessing this news, and many inquiries on the subject at the same time.
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Even those who do not care about the possibility of social stigma if they resort to psychotherapy, may not be able to afford the costs of treatment and continuing with the sessions.
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Therefore, psychological treatment is considered a “luxury and luxury” in Sudan because of the low income of the majority of Sudanese, which is matched by the inflation of the prices of all goods and services, including fees for psychiatrists, says Mab, who is 25 years old.
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We did not find this news related to free psychological treatment published in the local media. The office of the Director General of the Health Insurance Authority in Khartoum, Muhammad Hajj Hamad, explained the reason for not speaking to the local media, “because the plan is not complete with all its elements and has not yet been implemented.” He also added that such news It may not receive much local attention.
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Consulting “without parental knowledge”
Among the groups that sought to reach this degree of interest in and acceptance of psychotherapy in society, the initiative of the three female doctors was: Mab, Aya, and Khadija.
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After Mab went through a personal experience at the age of twenty, she and her two friends launched an awareness-raising initiative for mental illnesses, which began with university students, and then continued activities. After society fought the December revolution in 2018, these three young women have a role in drafting the mental health plan for the country in which the revolution changed many concepts and priorities.
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The idea of the initiative, launched by MAB in 2016, is to connect patients with volunteer psychologists in multiple states to provide free services to patients. The majority of the consultations they received were from students in their twenties suffering from family and emotional problems and problems with academic achievement, in addition to women facing problems with their husbands.
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The three doctors spoke on radio and television programs to encourage people to communicate with them and obtain support through free phone consultations or to meet the doctor in the clinic – if possible.
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Mab says the number of volunteer psychologists has reached twenty; As for the number of beneficiaries of the initiative’s services, it reached 10,000 people between 2016 and 2020.
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Aya Abdeen, a cousin of Maab and her partner in the initiative, explains this small number of beneficiaries of free service as a result of the prevailing mentality. “Regardless of the level of awareness and degrees, there are customs that govern society. Even if young people want counseling, the parent’s reaction will be ‘What would people say about us if they knew ‘ It is widely believed that visiting a therapist may affect a person’s future at work and their chances of marriage. Therefore, we find many young people contact us without the knowledge of the parents. “
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Revolution and psychological pressure
Image Released, Ma’ab Khalid
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Immortal
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The stories that Sudanese tell about the high spirit that flooded the sit-in squares in Sudan since the December 19 revolution continue to reveal a lot about the changes that have already started from the heart of those squares.
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“During the revolution period, we used to breathe out of our anger by shouting in the processions (demonstrations) and get rid of the negative energy. But the change started after the revolution … after the arrests. We became aware of the psychological harm and harm, so we offered our free services,” she told the BBC. .
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Moab was residing in Khartoum at that time, but Aya lived in Medani.
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The verse recalls the “great change” I observed during those days of sit-ins.
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“The people were united. During the sit-in, we felt that society was different. Some families brought food and juices with them to distribute to those present. Mobile clinics spread. Initiatives took care of the homeless children. Many things changed, including the people’s support for some.”
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The incident of the “dispersal of the General Command sit-in,” meaning that Sudanese security forces stormed a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Defense building in the capital, Khartoum, in June 2019, was a pivotal turning point not only on the political level, but on many aspects in the life of the Sudanese, including concern for mental health, especially for those who He witnessed those violent events.
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Aya, a specialist in the field of health psychology, says she has worked with several people who have suffered from PTSD – including one who “has survived more than once.”
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“During the sit-in, he was among the guard guards at one of the entrances to the sit-in squares – that is, the first line of defense. He lost a number of his friends in one of the attacks. He also went through many very painful situations of killing and rape before his eyes. He told me about things he saw that could not be forgotten. He went through PTSD and I worked with him to get over it. “
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During that period, the female doctors contacted various bodies, such as associations and international organizations, to provide them with medicines. They also obtained donations from the Sudanese living abroad, and the number of volunteers increased with them.
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Free treatment for most of Khartoum people
Image Released, Aya
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Aya in one of the sit-ins
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In those sit-in squares, Mab met the doctor Muhannad Muhammad Hamed, who was part of the Sudanese Professionals Association, and a member of the Central Doctors Committee that appeared during the days of the protests. After the dispersal of the sit-in, and due to the increased need for psychologists to intervene to provide support, Muhannad contacted those in charge of the initiative to provide the team with free treatment for the needy, and the matter developed into cooperation and thinking together about a better future for psychological care in Sudan.
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Muhannad, who became part of the management team of the Health Insurance Authority in Khartoum State, says, “Thanks to the friendship that brought me together with those in charge of the initiative, I started looking at the field of mental health in a different way. I generated an interest in this field. I took the plan that I prepared with MAB and began to implement it at the level of state health. Khartoum … it and its group formed the features and basis of the plan. “
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The office of Muhammad Haj Hamad, Director General of the Health Insurance Authority in Khartoum, explains that the current law (since the era of the past regime) related to health insurance includes physical and psychological treatment, but it is not applied and institutions are not bound by it, so the current work is focused on reforming and activating this law and amending fees. Note that it is binding on every citizen in Khartoum.
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He explains that their work currently covers 78 percent of the citizens in Khartoum, and that the goal is to reach universal coverage by 2025.
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I inquire: Why does it not include all residents of Khartoum? The answer was the need for a new population survey to obtain accurate statistics of the population of Sudan in general, and also because of the dissolution of some institutions that existed during the era of the previous regime.
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Upon implementation of this new plan, all that a citizen must pay when receiving psychological treatment is only a quarter of the drug price.
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