KABUL (PAN): Sixty-six percent of Afghans are suffering from stress disorders and mental problems, says the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) citing recent surveys conducted by national and international organisations.

Extreme poverty, insecurity, political instability, shabby infrastructure and gender disparity are the main causes of mental health problems in Afghanistan. Minister Dr SM Fatimie identified better mental health and treatment of such disorders as MoPH priorities.

"In spite of having limited budget and human resource, some important steps have been taken in the area of mental health within the MoPH," he said in a statement released here on Sunday.

In this context, he referred to the establishment of a mental health unit, the development of a mental health strategy, the standard treatment protocol, the establishment of a national task force and 16 psycho-social centers in Herat and Kabul.

In the near future, he promised, the MoPH would ensure that at least one trained health professional worked at every health facility to provide every patient the opportunity to be screened and get proper counseling and treatment.

A study conducted in 2000 by the Physicians for Human Rights compared the mental health status of women living in areas under Taliban and those controlled by the government. Depression was almost two times more prevalent among women living in the Taliban-controlled areas.

A 2002 nationwide survey found high levels of depressive symptoms (59.1pc among males and 73.4pc among females), anxiety symptoms (59.3pc among females and 83.5pc among males) and post-traumatic stress disorder (32.1pc among males, 48,3pc among females).

Respondents with physical disabilities had an even higher chance of developing psychopathology. A recent study among widows in Kabul also reported depression symptoms among 78.6 percent.

mud/pr