Chainama Still Overcrowded 63 Years After Opening

Zambia's only psychiatric referral hospital, Chainama Hills Mental Hospital, remains severely overcrowded 63 years after it opened to the public, with patient numbers continuing to far exceed its official capacity.

The Lusaka-based facility was established in 1955 during the colonial era to serve colonial officers before being opened to all Zambians in 1962 as the country's national mental health referral hospital.

According to the Ministry of Health, Chainama has an official bed capacity of 210. However, hospital records indicate the institution was originally designed to accommodate 500 patients—including 380 general adult beds and 120 forensic beds.

The records further show that the hospital is using more than 167 additional floor beds that are not officially recognised, while patient numbers have at times exceeded 1,000, placing significant pressure on available resources.

In addition to inpatient care, Chainama provides psychiatric treatment, rehabilitation and re-socialisation services, as well as outpatient mental health services for children aged 10 years and above.

Health experts say Zambia's continued dependence on a single national psychiatric referral hospital reflects wider challenges in the country's mental health system.

With Zambia's population having grown from an estimated 3.5 million in 1962 to more than 23 million in 2026, according to Zambia Statistics Agency projections, stakeholders are calling for mental health services to be decentralised to provincial hospitals to improve access to care and reduce pressure on Chainama.