Even after changing our lifestyle, slicing it, or dicing it up, mental health is an inevitable is banging on the door. India has its cup filled mental health problems. Approximately 7.5 percent of the Indian populace suffers from some form of mental disorder. It is said that one in every 20 people in India suffers from depression.

In the year 2011, it was said by Lancet Journal, India has the highest suicide rate amongst youth. It is said by WHO that Indians have a nine percent chance of developing depression which leads to disability.

Due to the lack of information, India has the largest number of patients in mental health where about 150 million (15 percent of Indian adults) are facing some type of mental health, even after the dreadful situation mere 30 million seek treatment according to the National Mental health Survey 2015-2016.

 

The treatment gaps are so huge that over 70 percent are not able to seek proper treatment. Despite this huge gap India currently spends only a tiny fraction of its total health budget on mental health. According to Shethepeople India only spent 0.06 percent of its health budget on mental health care. One of the main reasons is that there is an acute shortage of professionals who can help people with mental illness disorders. It was also said that in each of 1,00,000 patients in the country availability of staff is 0.30 psychiatrists, 0.17 nurses, and 0.05 psychologists.

As a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has only 3,800 registered psychiatrists against the need for 13,500. Against 900 clinical in Indian requirements is 20,250 clinical psychologists. Besides the count that the country requires there is a scarcity of psychiatric social workers in the country. Stakeholders’ hands are tied. Despite noise being made, little headway has been made with immense execution bottlenecks.

Before anyone can anticipate a coronavirus pandemic, earlier according to WHO predicted that by 2020, roughly 20 percent of the Indian population will suffer from mental illness. According to rough statistics, about 200 million Indians have a mental illness. After the breakout of the pandemic, the situation got a lot worse but the resources left with us are limited.

Lack of Investment

As above, India has an urgent need for human resources and equipment. Lack of investment is stopping as to the bridge between unless we systemically invest in creating these resources. The cost of training is very less which gives us a financial and time advantage. More employees under less training duration can help mental health service provision.

India is in a very dreadful condition, especially in our health sector. As our focus is new medicine where our history makes us sure that the herbs we use are can be a solution to many of our medical issues. To make out money for mental illness is very less according to the population.

There is an increasing infrastructure, people from communities can be trained in basic mental health care hygiene and prevention. Programmers like MHFA Mental Health First Aid are actively promoted.

Is India capable of dealing with the situation?

India is the second most populated country and the world’s fifth-largest economy. Even after all this India only spent 0.05 percent of its health budget is spent on mental health. The amount spent in our country on mental health is about 33 paisa per patient if we take into account the 150 million people who require urgent need.

As the population and economy are contradicting the government on defense is currently five times its spending on overall healthcare. Keeping the funds aside in its budget for mental health, the government is trying to organize many major awareness programs including World Mental Health Day, and went on aggressively celebrating International Yoga Day.

Mental health directly correlates positively with a country’s economic growth unemployment which affects an individual’s mental health and mental health issues lead the person to take up a job and the cycle results in strange ways by affecting mental health.

Why does the Indian budget not cover mental health?

Apart from the economic crisis reason’s government made it obligatory to look after people of the country’s mental health under the Convention on Rights of Person with Disability. Even though mental health is rarely mentioned in the election of any political parties. Providing good health to citizens is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution and the people elected are responsible to provide it.

There are a few patients who are capable of seeking the treatment but due to lack of information, they resist the situation. If at any time in life, you feel disabled you can contact a specialist at mediwy.com. There you will find the perfect help you desire. 

 

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