Overcoming Obstacles To Accessing Mental Health Services In Ethiopia

This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.

“What do you see as one major obstacle to people seeking treatment that may be needed, and what advice or suggestion do you have to help overcome that obstacle, whether for the person, family member, or practitioner?”

That was the main question posed to panelists at the Ethiopian Global Initiative’s Ethiopia Public Health Forum, the focus of which was “Beyond the Stigma of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.” On June 1, I attended this forum as a representative of IntraHealth International.

As in many places around the world, diagnosing and caring for people with mental illness in Ethiopia is complicated by stigma surrounding these diseases. [...]