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Mental health programme needed

    ABIDJAN

    Niger’s government says the country needs a nationwide programme to provide better mental health care for its 12 million people, PANA reported Health Minister Assoumane Adamou as saying on Thursday, World Health Day.

    Health authorities are worried by a recent survey which showed that 69 of 468 homes had at least one mentally ill member, a prevalence rate of 14.7 percent, PANA reported.

    The study, it added, showed that 110,000 people were experiencing serious mental illnesses and another 200,000 had less serious problems. Adoumou said on Wednesday that patients and their relatives often hid mental illness because of the social stigma attached to it.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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