bana ba tsogile jang?) almost always comes up after “how are yous” whenever parents meet and greet.
Most Batswana parents tend to think they know how their children are doing and can spot even signs of depression in their kids. Unfortunately, it isn’t always the case. While many parents bring their child in for help shortly after depression begins, the opposite is far more common than we think.
In fact, research has revealed that even Botswana’s leaders and policy makers do not know how depressed their citizens are. A recent study:
Mental health research in Botswana: a semi-systematic scoping review by Philip R. Opondo, Anthony A. Olashore and, Keneilwe Molebatsi carried out in 2020 “identified a relative scarcity of mental health-related research in Botswana. The few studies identified were mostly cross-sectional and covered only a few aspects of mental health, such as HIV and mental health, and substance use.” According to the researchers, “the findings suggest a need to strengthen the research capacity of individuals working in the mental health field. There is a need to develop a national database of research on mental health in Botswana and to set out research priorities. This would help to guide the mental health research agenda. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to review the extent of mental health research in Botswana. It thus forms a baseline for further reviews and priority-setting in mental health research in Botswana.”