The seminar, hosted by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known in English as Doctors Without Borders, was held in collaboration with Hawler Medical University College of Medicine at the Van Royal Hotel in Erbil.
“Today’s panel discussion is an important step in reviewing the impact of conflict on people’s mental health in Iraq, the type of treatment required, the availability of services and the capacity – both nationally and internationally – to respond to this mental health crisis,” one panelist, Dr. Joelle Vernet with MSF, said in a statement prior to the event.
“Many Iraqis have experienced years of violence. They have lost their loved ones, livelihoods, homes and dignity,” she said. “People are resilient to a certain point, but exposure to continuous trauma eventually takes its toll,” added Vernet.
Dr. Rezan Rashwany, director of mental health at the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health, opened the seminar to an audience of more 120 people, including non-governmental organizations, government officials, medical experts, professors and medical students.
The panel from left to right: Geri Dyer (MSF), Joelle Vernet (MSF), Melissa Robichon (MSF), Sirwan Kamil Ali (HMU), Asmaa Ghanem (HMU), Banaz Adnan (HMU), Wisam Al-Noon (MSF)
Panelists included Professor Dr. Sirwan Kamil Ali and Assistant Professors Dr. Asmaa Ghanem and Dr. Banaz Adnan from Hawler Medical University, along with Dr. Joelle Vernet, Dr. Geri Dyer, and Dr. Wisam al-Noon from MSF.
The panelists discussed the challenges that MSF and other mental health professionals face in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Such challenges include education and understanding of mental health issues, funding, infrastructure, a limited number of mental health professionals, and the location of services, as healthcare is often too far away for some people to travel. One of the main challenges is the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Following the panel discussion, audience members were invited to ask questions.
“This seminar is important because people now know there is a Director of Mental Health in the Ministry of Health who didn’t know about it before and they can join us in our meetings to learn more about what MSF is doing and be able to exchange lots of ideas,” Rashwany, who has been the mental health director since 2010, told Rudaw English.
“Especially these seminars that include medical students. It’s a great idea to potentially create an interest in the psychiatric branch because until now students are against it due to the stigma surrounding mental health.”
“Until now there is a stigma for doctors too, not only those who are suffering from mental disorders,” Rashwany added.
One of the questions put to the panelists was how to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness in a society where families often hide these types of illnesses within their community.
“My idea when they asked how can we remove the stigma, we have to follow similar procedures which are practiced in the United States where celebrities have publicly admitted to having depression or other psychiatric disorders to raise awareness and how to overcome these problems so that people won’t be afraid to speak out and realize that it is not something shameful,” she added.
Based on the last survey conducted in 2011, only six percent of people in Iraq received mental health and psychosocial support and many others were deprived access to these services, Rashwany said.
“We have to talk about it in the media and everywhere that it’s okay to talk about mental health issues and that it could happen to anybody.”
Around 120 students and medical professionals attended Monday's seminar
Another challenge discussed by panelists regarding treatment for mental illnesses is the current financial crisis in the region.
One member of the audience asked: “What would be the consequences for the community, for the economy of the country of not providing treatment for mental health issues?”
Dr. Sirwan Ali from Hawler Medical University responded: “We predict that those who are suffering and the present situation, that the economic status for them is very low and that they become unproductive which will make the situation for the government and non-government organizations more difficult.”
“Mental health affects the economic state and the economic state will also make mental health worse,” Ali said. “Within the last few years and the current economic problems, I’ve seen a lot of relapses in mental conditions, an increase in suicide rates and even aggressive behavior within the family and the community.” He said the government fails to support mental health.
When Ali asks families why they did not address mental health illnesses sooner, they say there was no access to medical care or that treatment was unaffordable. His suggestion was to provide more financial support to families in need.
Between 15 and 20 percent of people in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region face mental health issues. Until now, there are only four government mental health hospitals in the Kurdistan Region, one in Erbil, one in Duhok, and two in Sulaimani, leaving the weight of providing mental healthcare on non-government organizations such as MSF.
MSF currently has medical projects in eight governorates and has been working in Iraq since 1991.
“The organization has teams of qualified medical doctors, psychologists and counselors who provide vital care and support for moderate and severe mental health cases, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, schizophrenia and severe anxiety,” MSF’s press release read.
According to the biannual Iraq Activity Report published in January: “From July to December 2017, MSF provided almost 11,000 individual mental health consultations for internally displaced people and returnees in Iraq.”
