Amnesty International (AI) has called on the government of Sierra Leone to step up the process of passing new mental health legislation in the country.
AI made the call in a new report, They Are Forgetting About Us: The long-term mental health impact of war and Ebola in Sierra Leone.
The human rights organisation said that it interviewed, among others, Sierra Leonean mental health professionals; government officials; members of civil society organisations, including the Mental Health Coalition.
It noted that survivors of traumatic experiences of the 1991 civil war and the 2014 Ebola outbreak were being let down by the lack of available mental health services and facilities.
The Ebola outbreak had affected the country while it was still trying to rebuild from the damages of the civil war which lasted for eleven years.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 14,124 cases of Ebola and 3,956 deaths were recorded in the country due to the outbreak in 2014.
‘In Sierra Leone, people have endured horrific traumas in recent decades and the country is now also dealing with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic’, said Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Advisor, Rawya Rageh.
‘Financial constraints and the challenges of a weakened health system face Sierra Leone, like many other countries – but mental health is not a luxury, it is a fundamental human right.
‘The Sierra Leone government must now translate its policy commitments into tangible action by investing in improving mental health services.
‘Working alongside national actors, donor governments and agencies should provide the assistance desperately needed to prioritize these much-needed systems of care’.
According to the report, poverty is an additional factor seriously affecting mental health, with many survivors saying broken promises of social protection and reduced livelihood opportunities have further undermined their well-being.
Source: Amnesty International
Photo source: State House Sierra Leone
