The theme “Treatment of schizophrenia in Morocco: current situation and perspectives” was at the center of a national conference organized on Saturday at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Casablanca, with the participation of doctors, specialists and stakeholders in the field. health sector.
This meeting provided the opportunity to highlight the contributions of national strategies in the field of mental health and the challenges to be met to guarantee effective care for people with mental disorders.
In this regard, the president of the National Federation for Mental Health (FNSM), Hachem Tyal, stressed that the organization of this meeting aims to enrich the debate around the challenges faced by patients with schizophrenia and their families, emphasizing that this complex disease poses medical, social and human challenges.
Highlighting the importance of early diagnosis in the treatment of mental and psychological illnesses, Mr. Tyal mentioned the high cost of treatment, which constitutes one of the major obstacles to patients’ access to care.
He also called for the establishment of specialized centers in the treatment of this type of pathologies, adding that the treatment of mental illnesses, in particular schizophrenia, is not limited only to treating the patient, but also involves raising awareness and train families so that they can play an active role in support.
Mr. Tyal insisted on the need to integrate families into patient care and transform them into key players, while welcoming the role of associations of parents and friends of patients, who offer essential support to patients and their loved ones.
He also indicated that this national conference brought together experts, families of patients, former patients who have returned to normal life after their recovery, as well as representatives of civil society associations and decision-makers, in order to discuss the current state of psychiatric treatments and to identify concrete avenues to improve them.
The president of the FNSM also underlined the importance of creating a mental health observatory to collect and monitor data related to mental illnesses.
He called for including beneficiaries of psychiatric services among the priorities for universal medical coverage, emphasizing the importance of guaranteeing equality between men and women in terms of rights to mental health, access to care and rehabilitation.
In addition, he highlighted the need to develop and organize means of psychiatric medical transport and urged the various actors, stakeholders and political decision-makers to systematically integrate their vision of mental health into their action programs. .
On this occasion, a documentary entitled “When suffering becomes everyday” was screened, produced by the Afak Association for Mental Health, in order to highlight the daily lives of people with mental disorders.
Moving testimonies from former patients with schizophrenia were also shared, recounting their journey of suffering during treatment, but also their success in overcoming this ordeal.
