These outreach activities have already started but this is the area where we need the most support, as mental health provision for the community and within primary health care requires huge resources to cover all the needs.
The fourth priority is to improve mental health information management systems. We have already established a section under the new Mental Health Department, responsible for this area of work. We have recently developed a mental health service monitoring tool with several indicators to measure mental health activities, which regional health care providers must report to the mental health department on a monthly basis.
3) What challenges do you anticipate in implementing the strategy?
In the short time that the mental health department has existed, we have achieved a lot in terms of raising mental health awareness, service expansion, human resources training, and coordinating private mental health institutions and organisations that work in mental health in Somaliland. Just this week, we delivered a two-day training in mental health and human rights for staff from private mental health facilities.
Whilst we have started delivering some activities around these four priority areas, there is still a lot more to be done and we need external support, particularly on mental health integration into the community and expansion of mental health services. It will require huge financial support to integrate this country-wide, across primary healthcare. Also delivering quality mental health services is a big challenge, since we lack professional mental health human resource.
This year the government introduced a small taxation on khat to generate income for mental health services. Khat leaves contain a psychostimulant drug similar to amphetamine.