Depression and Drug Induced Psychosis prevalence are high, but this was the situation as at 2013. A significant number of Gambian youth were returned from USA, from Libya, Europe and other Places. The majority of these youth are moving around the Greater Banjul Area, and a significant number of them are suffering from depression and drug induced psychosis.
The Gambia: Lack of a robust and responsive mental health care in local communities is putting livelihoods at risk, marginalizing people with mental health problems and increasing stigmatization of the mentally disordered and their families. The World Mental Health Survey, 2004 which estimated that approximately 27,000 people in the Gambia (or 3% of the population aged 15 years and more) is suffering from a severe mental disorder and a further 91,000 (or 10% of the population aged 15 years and more) are suffering from moderate to mild mental disorder. This suggests that at least 118,000 people in the Gambia (or 13% of the adult population) are likely to be affected by mental disorders which require varying degrees of treatment and care.
There is a large gap between the numbers of people affected by a mental disorder and those receiving treatment. The maximum number of people receiving treatment.
Many people have very little knowledge about mental disorders and are unaware of the availability of simple and effective preventive, treatment and rehabilitative measures. Many Gambians believe that people suffering from mental disorders will never get cured; that they will never be productive members of society; that there are no effective treatments; that all mental disorders are the same; that mental disorder is a punishment for which recovery is unlikely; and that those who work with people suffering from mental disorders will themselves become ‘crazy’. Many of these erroneous beliefs or misconceptions are held not only by patients, families and communities, but also by health professionals working in both general and mental health services, as well as by individuals within government agencies.
These myths perpetuate both stigma and discrimination against the mental disorders giving rise to social adversity, pervasive negative attitudes and prejudices, and at times, the condemnation of people with mental disorders.