Mental health traditional medicine and psychiatry in Sudan

The establishment of psychiatric services in Sudan is an interesting experiment in a developing country. Prior to World War II there were hardly any organized psychiatric services (Baasher, 1975). By 1950, the Clinic for Nervous Disorders, Khartoum North, was well established and the Kober Institution was built later to cater for 120 forensic psychiatric patients. This was followed by the establishment of four psychiatric units in provincial capitals at Wad Madni, Port-Sudan, El Obeid and Atbara . In 1964, a 30-bed psychiatric ward was built in Khartoum general hospital. Psychiatry in Sudan began in the 1950s under the guidance of the late Professor El Tigani El Mahi. He pioneered, among other things, rural services and the open-door policy. His successor, Dr Taha A. Baasher, shouldered the responsibility and extended services to more peripheral areas of the country. He established the Mental Health Association of Sudan and the Sudanese Association of Psychiatrists. In 1971, Omdurman Psychiatric Hospital (El Tigani El Mahi Hospital) was established as the national mental hospital (El Faki, 1997).This book gives brief description about mental health and psychiatric services in Sudan