How to deal with devastating stigma
The government is grappling with how to put a lid on the stigma that is devastating the lives of those who have recovered from Covid-19. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi said that recovered patients were being rejected by their families and communities.
- Clinical psychologist, Sylvia Okwarah, says that when faced with the unknown, people tend to react irrationally.
Support groups for those who have recovered from the virus or been released from quarantine are necessary.
The government is now grappling with how to put a lid on the stigma that is devastating the lives of those who have recovered from the virus, as well as their families.
Addressing the media a few weeks ago, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi, said that recovered patients were being rejected by their families and communities.
“We are disturbed that reintegration has not been easy for others because of being stigmatised. This is quite unfortunate, considering our constant appeal and massive education across many platforms that Covid-19 is like any other disease,” said Ms Mwangangi.
TESTED POSITIVE
A case that comes to mind is that of Wangui Waweru, a mother of three from Nakuru County who says that her neighbours and some relatives ostracised her on rumours that she had tested positive for the virus.
Even though she was declared Covid-19 free, no one wanted anything to do with her, and a few days after returning home from hospital, her neighbours burnt down her snail business, arguing that the snails caused the disease.
Clinical psychologist, Sylvia Okwarah, says that when faced with the unknown, people tend to react irrationally.
“We are dealing with a disease that is still not fully understood, and that uncertainty is bringing about fear, which would explain why one’s own family or neighbours, would shun you when you most need acceptance and support,” explains Ms Okwarah, who believes that we are no longer tackling a coronavirus, rather, a stigmatisation virus.
Being shunned, says Ms Okwarah, is often accompanied by labelling, which can have devastating results too.
“Imagine being referred to as “mtu wa corona” — it is demeaning, and is bound to affect your self-esteem,” she says.
How can you deal with this unsettling stigmatisation?
SUPPORT GROUPS
The psychologist believes that support groups for those who have recovered from the virus or been released from quarantine are necessary.
“Just like we have support groups for those with illnesses such as cancer and HIV and Aids, one for those that have recovered from Covid-19, as well as their families would go a long way in offering these individuals the psychological support they need,” she says.
She adds that therapy at family level, which can be offered by community health workers, is also important.
But the stigmatisation of those that have recovered from Covid-19 is not a Kenya-only problem.
It is a worldwide problem that has some of the biggest global health bodies worried — in March, Unicef, the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies came together and produced a guide that they hope will prevent and address the widespread social stigma associated with Covid-19.
The guide, which targets governments, media and other organisations to help them stem the growing stigma in their countries.
The impact of the stigma cannot be downplayed since it is likely to make it difficult to manage the disease because some might choose to hide their illness rather than seek treatment because this could expose them to discrimination.
This is already happening, with scores of Kenyans refusing mass testing rolled out by the government in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
