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Rabat – Morocco’s Zakoura Foundation launched a pilot project aimed at helping rural women gain access to mental health assistance, in partnership with the International Federation for Psychotherapy.
The initiative started with a trial in 2019, which provided psychological support to women from rural areas over the span of 24 months. The targeted beneficiaries of the trial project were rural mothers over the age of 16, living in Douars, a North African term designating a small village.
A Successful Trial
The trial project included free consultations and regular follow-up sessions for pregnant and breastfeeding women suffering from depression, in addition to regular educational sessions on psychological disorders and mental health.
Following the success of its 2 year trial, the foundation has stated that “partnership negotiations are underway to extend the project to other provinces and to include training for general practitioners.”
The total number of beneficiaries was 307 female patients, and the most successful awareness-raising visits were the ones dedicated to pregnancy.
The Pilot Project
Following the first prospect mission, the Zakoura Foundation has now selected douars Chraaba and Ouled Taleb Said in the rural communes of Bouhmam and Kridid, province of Sidi Bennour, to host the project. The main selection criteria was the willingness of the residents to take part in the project.
Two volunteers per douar were then designated with the role of monitoring and accompanying the women under the supervision and direction of the Federation’s medical team.
Moroccan women from rural areas are some of the most marginalized and forgotten members of Moroccan society.
Mental health for Rural Women
Adding to that the fragility of the national mental health system and the rampant illiteracy in non urban areas, rural women in Morocco are objected to serious mental health disorders that can go untreated for a lifetime.
Divorce, domestic abuse and unemployment are factors that contribute to the development of mental issues.
According to a recent national epidemiological survey, 48% of the Moroccan population aged 15 and over suffers, or has suffered, from a mental disorder, 26.5% from depressive disorders, 9% from generalized anxiety, 5.6% from psychotic disorders.
Women are the most affected as they represent 48.5% of the affected segment, while men make up 34.3%.
More globally, according to the World Health Organization, neuropsychiatric disorders in Morocco represent 15.8% of the national burden of disease.
Upgrading Mental Healthcare
The Moroccan government in 2014 embarked on a vast quest to upgrade the mental healthcare system, but the sector still suffers from major deficiencies in infrastructure and personnel.
As of today, Morocco’s mental healthcare sector is comprised of 16 general hospitals with a psychiatric department, six specialized psychiatric hospitals, and three psychiatric hospitals for a total of 1725 available beds.
Despite plausible efforts from the government, the sector still overlooks regional and gender based inequalities that make gaining access to mental health assistance challenging.
Earlier this month, a group of Moroccan entrepreneurs launched Psyenligne a digital mental health platform, aiming to streamline the mental healthcare system in the country by offering online consultations and expediting the scheduling process for in-person visits.
Still, these initiatives are hard to utilize for people in Morocco’s rural areas, as internet access is limited.
In addition to general unawareness of the existence of such facilities and services, and the difficulty that comes with their access, most mental health issues are rarely identified as such, and remain untreated.
Social Stigma
In addition to precarious access to care, people with mental illnesses are victims of social rejection among Morocco’s rural communities.
Mental disorders marked by agitation and incoherence are considered as curses or possessions, while those suffering from sadness or depression are told they lack faith.
When mental disorders become increasingly evident in a rural patient, families rarely resort to visiting mental health professionals and turn to local religious figures instead.
These practices range from unfounded traditional medicine to witchcraft, including internment in Bouya Omar, a mausoleum used for “exorcisms” located about fifty kilometers from Marrakech where according to local press, close to a thousand potential mental health patients were interned up until 2015.
The Zakoura Foundation’s work is especially crucial in these areas, where awareness is sometimes more needed than logistics.
