Surveillance of Suicide Attempts and Alert on Mounting Mental Health Issues in Sudan

While several suicide attempts have been tracked, the Sudanese Ministry of Health has officially warned of high rates of mental distress among Sudanese as a result of intensifying fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces since mid-April.

On the other hand, a mental health official demanded that mental disorders should not be seen as a stigma, but rather as a crisis that requires treatment, support, and support.

depression, anxiety and suicide attempts

In particular, the director of the Department of Mental Health of the Federal Ministry of Health of Sudan, Dr. Khiam Ibrahim, told Al Arabiya.net7 cases of amnesia due to trauma were observed in three shelters in the north, and panic attacks, depression and suicide attempts were observed in Kassala, eastern Sudan, amid expectations of rising rates of mental illness among Sudanese due to the war.

Dr. Khiam Ibrahim told Al-Arabiya.netthat depression is at the top of the list of psychiatric disorders in adults, in addition to anxiety, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychological stress. This is not like those who were treated for mental disorders before the start of the war. As for the most pronounced psychological disorders in children, they are represented by strong crying, involuntary urination, fear, panic, dumbness, etc.

Psychological interventions

Dr. Khiam Ibrahim said that humanitarian reports showed an increase in the number of displaced people from Khartoum to various states in Sudan after the outbreak of war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in mid-April. She also acknowledged the deteriorating general condition as these exceptional and difficult circumstances made mental health a top priority and demonstrated the urgent need for psychological and social support.

She added that the Department of Mental Health of the Ministry has rushed to activate channels of communication with various states of Sudan to find out the current situation and ways to provide psychological and social support services, especially with states that have camps and homes for displaced people, such as the states of the Nile River. Gezira, North, Red Sea, Kassala, North Darfur, South Darfur.

Gezira state in central Sudan is known to have 18 shelters according to the initial census, while Kassala state in eastern Sudan is known to have 151 families and 15,000 displaced people in the Red Sea.

The mental health officer indicated that they were unable to provide psychological support to West Darfur due to the deteriorating security situation there.