Winner
Robin Hammond
Freelance
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"CONDEMNED - Mental health in African countries in crisis"
In Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, there are seven private clinics ‘treating’ people with mental disability. They house at least 600 patients. I went to see 4 of these institutions. All but one used chains. In 2 of the clinics up to 80% of the patients were shackled. Treatment at these places is the bare minimum – they are in fact businesses that take advantage of desperate families and a population denied a say in their care. The families of patients pay up to $US120 a month. A large sum in Somalia. For this the patients receive some food and some medication. What I saw were often confused people crowded into dark spaces on dirty mattresses lined up side by side. Many told me they wanted to leave but were not allowed to. One young man agreed he needed treatment “I am sick” he said, “you put sick people in hospital, not a prison.” Hargeisa, Somaliland. May, 2011. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos
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