High level of mental trauma in Freetown, MSF says

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has called on the international community to devote greater resources to the treatment of mental trauma in Sierra Leone, according to an MSF press release.

In a report issued on Thursday titled ‘Assessing Trauma in Sierra Leone’, MSF said it found extremely high levels of trauma among a representative survey of civilians in the capital of Freetown.

MSF found, among other things, that 99% of those surveyed suffered some degree of starvation, 90% witnessed others being wounded or killed, and at least 50% lost people close to them.

“Mental trauma does not disappear with the cease-fire,” Kaz de Jong, mental health adviser with MSF in Amsterdam, said. “The war may continue in people’s minds for years, decades, perhaps even generations. To address only the material restoration and physical needs of the population is not enough. The psychological devastation of the war will not repair itself on its own.”

The report also noted a high level of physical harm among those surveyed:

7% had been amputated (typically a limb, hand, foot or ear), 16% had been tortured by a warring faction, 33% had been held hostage and 39% had been maltreated in some way or another.

MSF has been working in Sierra Leone since 1994. It has medical and nutritional projects in Freetown, Makeni, Bo, Kambia and other areas.