Tribute to Prof.Tijani ElMahi

Prof.Tijani ElMahi (1911-1970) is known as the Father of Psychiatry in Africa. He was trained in Psychiatry under Adolf Meyers in Johns Hopkins University in USA. He later returned to Khartoum to serve his country Sudan. During his work he observed that traditional healers were more effective than the Western scientific methods. He realized that when the patient and the doctor agree, the patient gets well. A great deal of mutual respect developed between him and the traditional healers as they worked together in treating the same patients. He believed that a Psychiatrist has to first and foremost be a student of the society. Dr.Tijani ElMahi’s approach to understanding and treating mental patients became widespread in Africa and thus he came to be known as Father of African Psychiatry.

The Psychiatric Teaching Hospital in Omdurman named after Tijani El Mahi celebrated 100^th Birth Anniversary of the legendary psychiatrist on 5^th January 2012. The Director of Tijani ElMahi Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Abdulla Abdurrahman commented that he is very pleased that the Ministry of Health Khartoum State is committed to revive Tijani’s call which was initiated by the First Vice President of Sudan Ali Osman Taha to put emphasis on Augmented Health Services in the country. He was also happy to see the family members of Prof.Tijani ElMahi present in the celebrations. Prof.Tijani’s daughter Dr.Suaad Tijani ElMahi and her husband Dr.Badreddin Suleiman were felicitated by the Organising Committee. The grandson Tijani was also present. Dr.Ali Baldo Senior Psychiatrist and Head of the Organizing Committee said that the aim of such a function was to remind the people of the slogan ‘Stop Exclusion, Dare to Care’. He added that psychiatric patients were neglected, omitted and covered by a lot of taboos. Now it is time to bring them to light. Apart from Psychiatrists, the ceremony was attended by Nurses, Care Givers and Patients. At the function there was an exhibition of paintings which were painted or drawn by patients.