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Putting Our Priorities Right: HIV/AIDS, The Much Talked About Than…

Author: Madieu Jalloh - SEM

By putting our priorities right, we mean first things first, it can also mean addressing issues according to their order of importance. Most developmental programmes have succeeded simply because they appear in order of priority. Sierra Leone as a nation is not the least of countries that has misplaced its priorities. This is why many a time we are been enmeshed in the scourge of diseases, insecurity and other social malaise.

Putting our priorities right can also mean we treat the most pressing issue which will undoubtedly save us time, money and resources that we may use for future development. Taking a keen look into our health policy one will come to reconcile with the fact that much has not been done to salvage the plight of Sierra Leoneans by getting rid of diseases such as Malaria, HIV/AIDS and most importantly mental illness.

Putting on a scale of preference these two worrying diseases HIV/AIDS and mental illness, one will come to see that HIV/AIDS weighs the most and it has come to be known as the most talked about disease in our country, even world wide. Besides it being the most talked about illness in our midst, it has also been given much priority and attention in terms of money allocated for it cure.

Mental illness is not a surprise to learn that in post conflict Sierra Leone is on the increase, and many have attributed its cause to post traumatic stress disorder and drugs used during the war. With no exaggeration the amount of people living with mental illnesses far exceeds the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Sierra Leone. Schizophrenia in the medical diction means a debilitating mental illness that reduces the accuracy of the brain.

Recent statistics on mental health show that approximately 450,000 people are being affected by mental derangement of different kinds in Sierra Leone.

Many a time when the mental health issue is being discussed, people think it is only those who hoard rubbish in the street that are called mentally ill. Such a misconception is not only common with uneducated people, but educated ones as well cannot differentiate between a sober minded and insane person. Mentally deranged persons can be categorized at different levels depending on the type of behaviour they put on. Some insane persons are most times seen well dressed but deep within them and proper observation will tell you that all is not well.

Mental illness is a social problem that needs urgent attention on the part of government. Moreover, there is laboratory tests required for mental illness. Mental illness can be tested through behaviour and many people in Sierra Leone today are victims of mental disability but little do they know how to curtail its spread.

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