COVID-19 highlights the lack of mental health services for refugees
The pandemic has taken a toll in everyone's lives around the world, but saying we are all on the same boat would be a falsity. During these unsure times, refugees continue to battle for their lives and find asylum in different countries while also having to provide for their families and protect themselves from the coronavirus. All this pressure, combined with the lack of mental health services for these people, leads them to suffer from various illnesses and live in poor conditions. Charlotte Phillip, Head of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Team at Amnesty International, states ‘A tiny fraction of the international health aid budget is devoted to mental health, and refugees and migrants are often cut off from even the scarce services available’. This means that refugees are left to face housing uncertainties, unemployment, and insufficient access to healthcare by themselves, with no guidance from their host countries in matters of mental health.
The Guardian reports that although Australia's offshore asylum centres, such as Naurus, claim to care for refugees, they are indeed torturous, and many refugees recount their time there as inhumane. In 2016, a woman set herself on fire after being moved to Nauru, following the death of an Iranian man who committed the same act days before. Both individuals suffered severe depression and PTSD and had applied for mental health counsel, but their application was denied by superiors of the centre. These events kick-started revolts around the asylum centres Australia has opened in various pacific islands, leading to the closure of the Manau Island centre in Papa New Guinea. Figures show that after Australia's punitive policy, many refugees took to self-harm and suicide attempts. The same behaviour can be seen in the US, with the family separation policies instated in Trump's government and unrest surges in the UK among asylum seekers as Secretary of State, Pritti Patel, announces plans of mimicking Australia’s offshore centres.
A study conducted by the medical magazine, PLOS Medicine, in September 2020, shows how the prevalence of mental illness in refugees has reached all-time highs following the coronavirus outbreak, and the figures are worrying. Refugees coming from Africa are more likely to suffer from PTSD since African countries are considered to have the highest level of Political Terror Scale, while Middle Eastern refugees tend to have the highest levels of anxiety due to the distress caused by the political instability and unexpected attacks they are subject to in their home country. In general, depression appears to be more prevalent in asylum seekers and refugees than in the general population, and yet they are often the ones who are denied mental health services and aid.
The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the need for better mental health services for refugees, many of which in addition to coping with this deadly disease and relocation, need help processing traumas and events they faced back home. Providing mental health services for everyone who needs it, including refugees, must be a priority to countries around the world for a successful recovery from this pandemic.
Written by Victoria Cornelio