Maseru, June 24 — Reverend Dr. Mosiuoa Makhata says the days when mental health challenges were attributed to witchcraft and family curses are long gone, stressing the need for a more informed and holistic approach to addressing mental health issues in Lesotho.
Speaking during a multi-stakeholder dialogue on mental health held in Maseru on Wednesday, Dr. Makhata said the country must engage in a serious conversation about mental health and address its root causes rather than focusing only on its symptoms.
He noted that mental health should be understood through various dimensions. One of these, he said, relates to the circumstances surrounding a person’s birth. According to Dr. Makhata, some children are born into environments characterised by rejection, whether from their parents or society.
He explained that in some cases, fathers abandon pregnant women and reject their unborn children, creating emotional and psychological challenges that can affect both the mother and the child.
Another important dimension, he said, is genetics. However, he cautioned that an emphasis on genetic factors often causes individuals and families to overlook the psychological aspects of mental health.
Dr. Makhata further explained that people are affected psychologically by a wide range of experiences and circumstances that can contribute to mental health challenges. He added that moral and spiritual dimensions should also be considered as part of a comprehensive approach to mental well-being.
He expressed concern that society often addresses mental health issues superficially rather than tackling their underlying causes. To improve access to care, he advocated for the decentralisation of mental health services, saying they should be made available at community level and provided by adequately trained personnel.
Also speaking at the dialogue, Archbishop Tlali Lerotholi of the Catholic Church emphasized the need to consider the interconnectedness of the body, mind, spirit, and social environment when addressing mental health issues.
He observed that many people may be living with mental health conditions without being aware of them. As an example, he referred to individuals who claim to have visions of the Virgin Mary within the Catholic Church. While acknowledging that some of these experiences may be genuine, he noted that others could be linked to underlying mental health conditions.
Archbishop Lerotholi acknowledged that churches have traditionally focused on prayer as their primary form of support. However, he stressed the importance of strengthening collaboration between faith communities and mental health professionals by referring individuals with mental health conditions to appropriate specialists for assessment and treatment.
The dialogue brought together stakeholders from government, Parliament, civil society organisations, academia, the legal fraternity, development partners, mental health practitioners, the media, and people with lived experience of mental illness.
Its objectives include identifying legal and policy gaps affecting people with mental illness, developing a coordinated advocacy strategy on mental health rights in Lesotho, formulating actionable recommendations for legislative and policy reform, and preparing a consolidated submission to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on the Social Cluster advocating for strengthened legal protections for people living with mental illness.
Ends/MP
