Mental Health Care Access in Afghanistan

Individuals in low-income countries have limited to no access to mental health care within their communities. Many clinics have been shut down because of the lack of funding, which makes it difficult for students to find support for their mental health. Afghanistan especially has limited access to mental health care with a lack of qualified professionals, the effects of decades of war, gender-based restrictions, political instability, and overall does not acknowledge mental health as a whole. Due to these challenges and having limited treatment options, around 70% of college students in Afghanistan are experiencing academic struggles, social isolation, depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. However, unlike Afghanistan, other countries have begun to acknowledge mental health. For example, the United States has policies to improve access through federal funding and acts specific to mental healthcare access, but Afghanistan does not. The World Federation for Mental Health is just one non-profit organization that holds World Mental Health Day to advocate for global mental health. This paper aims to advocate for the acknowledgment of issues surrounding mental health in Afghanistan by exploring the discrepancies in access to mental healthcare in the United States.