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Dr. Habeeb: Raising the standard for mental health care in Somalia
“I saw five young girls being chased and insulted on the streets of Mogadishu by a
mob,” Dr. ‘Habeeb’ says. “That was when I realized that mental health was an issue
of big concern in my community.”
The cruel treatment meted out to the girls that day prompted the 58-year-old
psychiatrist, from Shibis district in Mogadishu, to do something about it.
With the help of supporters, he opened the Habeeb Mental Health Hospital in 2005,
specializing in the treatment of mental illness and personality disorders – and one of
Somalia’s first such establishments since the start of the civil war in 1991. He
admitted 30 patients soon after opening.
Since then, Dr. ‘Habeeb’s’ medical practice and services have grown, expanding
beyond Mogadishu. He now runs ten other psychiatric centres throughout the
country, in Buhoodle, Caabudwaaq, Gaalkayo, Cadaado, Belet Weyne, Marka, Beled
Hawo and Kismaayo.
“Our branch in Beled Hawo, in the Gedo region is called the ‘Habeeb Triangle Mental
Hospital,’ in reference to patients who are admitted from Somalia, Kenya and
Ethiopia,” he says. “Patients with a history of drug and substance abuse are also
brought in from the United States.”
The facilities provide outpatient consultation, and most inpatient cases are treated
for bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, dementia, epilepsy,
psychosis and conditions associated with substance abuse, among others.
Asides from the centres, Dr. ‘Habeeb’ also makes house calls, providing treatment
for patients at home and in their communities.
The state of mental health in Somalia has been on the back burner of health
priorities for decades. Mental health disorders peaked in the Horn of Africa country
during its civil war in the 1990s, but after the war ended there were limited
resources to deal with them.
“Unless we stop the stigma associated with mental health issues, we will not be able
to properly treat and care for these patients,” Dr. ‘Habeeb’ says.
The psychiatrist believes that Somalia’s mental health burden can only be reduced
with proper treatment and medical care of patients, as well as changing people’s
perceptions of psychiatric illness.
“There is a need to integrate mental health care within the mainstream health and
social education services to aptly respond to this health burden,” he says.
To that end, the physician has endeavoured to raise awareness of mental health
issues through advocacy campaigns across the country.
In recent years, the UN has provided support in various ways. This includes the
provision of training for mental health professionals, as well as initiatives such as the
WHO’s ‘Chain Free Initiative,’ which aims to restore the rights and dignity of
mentally-ill persons by advocating for chain-free hospitals, chain-free homes and a
chain-free environment that offer an improved quality of life.