Child and adolescent mental healthcare services in South Africa are dire, with only one in 10 children with diagnosable mental disorders able to receive treatment.
This has been confirmed by the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town (UCT), in its latest annual Child Gauge report that reviews the condition of children in the country. The review, reports the Mail & Guardian, highlights the status of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH).
At the launch of the publication, Bongani Majola, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, said because of historical neglect and under-investment in mental health, there were huge gaps in the care for these children and adolescents.
“These gaps often lead to gross human rights violations that rob children and adolescents of their quality of life, and potential to build resilience,” he said.
Petrus de Vries, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at UCT, writes: “Child and adolescent psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are available in only a handful of urban centres; while limited services and human resources compromise care at district level.”
SA has fewer than 60 child and adolescent psychiatry specialists, yet still more than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa.
Of these specialists, 20 are in the public sector, while there are only five funded training posts nationally. Government-funded specialist services for children and adolescent mental health are available in Cape Town, Johannesburg, eThekwini and Tshwane, the report found.
The report highlights the strengths in the child and adolescent mental health services and systems (CAMHSS), in that these vulnerable groups have been a subject of discussion by the government and policymakers for more than two decades.
“Although not yet implemented, the policy guidelines on CAMHSS were developed in 2003, and the norms for South Africans commissioned in 2004,” notes the report.
Further to this, the National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2013-2020 outlined the central role of district health services to strengthen general mental health services in South Africa. District mental health teams are meant to have oversight of district health services.
But the absence of detailed implementation plans for these teams resulted in only two functioning in 2019, one in the Free State and another in Mpumalanga.
The National Health Insurance Bill, (NHI) currently under review, seeks to provide “inclusive health care” for all South Africans.
The report argues that although the Bill states that all children will have access to basic health care services, it “does not define what will be included in the services”.
At the launch of the report, Mark Tomlinson, of the Institute for Life Course Health Research at Stellenbosch University, said: “Every single child needs support so that they can develop the strength and resources to meet life’s challenges. The ordinary support of parents, teachers and communities can help build resilience and set them on a positive trajectory.”
Child Gauge 2021_FINAL_screen
Mail & Guardian article – Child and adolescent mental health services facing crisis (Open access)
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