Problems of organizing psychiatric care and factors affecting it in Africa
The understanding of the value of public health has improved markedly over the past decade around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) supports the governments of various countries in their endeavors to improve the mental health of citizens, WHO is establishing interaction with government authorities and public organizations in order to coordinate these activities and joint actions. The situation is utterly bleak in low-income African countries, where an average of 1.7 million people have one psychiatrist and one psychiatric bed for 42,000 inhabitants. Patients with severe mental disorders have not received treatment during the past year in many African countries in 76-85% of cases. The leading problems are related to mental disorders in HIV/AIDS, victims of emergency situations (military conflicts), aggressive behavior of drivers on the roads, drug addiction.