MANILA, Oct 31 — The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday clarified that the statement “800,000 people with mental health conditions” made by the World Health Organization (WHO) was based on an estimate that is usually used in case of calamities.
“During a calamity, the number of people with depression or other common mental health disorders is estimated to increase by half from a baseline of 10-20% of the affected population,” Acting Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin explained, adding that this was the formula that the WHO used in approximating the number of people that will be affected. From this number, only around 10% would require treatment.
According to DOH records, there are 982,000 people from Regions 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas), and 8 (Eastern Visayas) who were affected by Typhoon Yolanda.
“This means that it is estimated that 20% of the affected population (196,400 people) is estimated to be affected with common mental health problems. Of this number, ten percent (19,640 people) could require treatment,” Garin explained further.
Psychosocial debriefing is conducted to assist people in dealing with the physical or psychological symptoms that are generally associated with trauma exposure, including calamities. Debriefing allows them to process the event and reflect on its impact and eventually move on with their lives. Others who are unable to move on may require treatment.
“Since we have trained many responders on psychosocial debriefing, we have responded in the best way possible. Hence, the number of Yolanda victims who were expected to have mental health problems were minimized because of the rapid response of the DOH, local government units, and partner organizations, including the WHO,” Garin concluded. (DOH)