Rise in Psychiatric Cases in Southern Tajik Town

The psychiatric hospital serving the town of Kulob in southeast Tajikistan is struggling to cope with rising numbers of new cases.

There are 4,100 people with psychiatric problems on the official records in and around Kulob. But the only hospital for the area has just 60 beds, and its facilities and staff are limited.

The hospital’s head Zoir Zarifov say his research who have been through traumatic experiences stemming directly from Tajikistan’s economic troubles – some come from broken homes, while others have had troubling experiences while working in Russia as labour migrants.

Some attempt suicide, but as deputy police chief Qayum Talbakov points out, this group of people “has not committed a single crime to date”. The police officer noted that many had come into the town from surrounding areas.

The audio programme, in Russian and Tajik, went out on national radio stations in Tajikistan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.