The No More Mualagh* has been established to address the information needs of Afghani people (Dari speakers) in rural areas of Australia in relation to the correct use of antidepressant medication. This project is a joint initiative of Multicultural Mental Health Australia (MMHA), National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) and University of South Australia, Associate Professor Nicholas Procter.

The project has two aims: 1. To address the information needs of the Afghan community by educating them on the safe use of anti-depression medication and 2. To educate prescribers and dispensers who work with the Afghani’s on the Afghani experience of depression and antidepression medication.

Working with refugee communities to educate them on the safe use of medicines is unprecedented. The project will work with the Reciprocity in Education model developed by Associate Professor Nicholas Procter (Procter, 2003). The model supports equal information exchange and interaction between the organisations and the Afghani community. The No More Mualagh project has the potential to be considered best practice within the mental health industry.

The close connections that A/Professor Procter has developed with the Afghan community of Murray Bridge (Procter, 2003) enabled the project to uncover elements of how depression is perceived and how medication is currently being used by Afghans. Fifty percent of men interviewed by A/Professor Procter take medication to sleep and to treat depression.

The Afghan community members of rural South Australia who have experienced depression and have been prescribed medication, have identified the need for this project through the work of A/Professor(Procter, 2003). The Afghani men deemed to be at risk of self-harm have articulated their lack of understanding about depression, its modes of treatment and appropriate use of medication. This identification plays a vital role in the project being able to access and talk to the community about depression, a topic that is usually taboo.

In the 2002-03 financial year, 964 people arrived in Australia from Afghanistan. Of these, 842 came under the Humanitarian program (DIMIA). From 1999 to 2002, 9,160 unauthorized boat arrivals came to Australia mainly from Afghanistan and Iraq. Of these some 90% were found to be genuine refugees. Between 1990-2004 DIMIA has granted 3,661 temporary protection visas to Afghanis.

One in 10 TPV holders live in regional areas such as Murray Bridge (SA), Ketamine Area (WA), Mildura, Swan Hill, Shepparton and Bendigo (VIC) Young, Griffith and Dubbo (NSW), Kilcoy and Gattan (Qld).

*Mualagh is a Dari word that means floating in a sea of sad uncertainty. There is no direct translation for depression into Dari.