Mental disorder is among the top 10 illnesses, causing disability (more than 37 percent world-wide) with depression being its leading cause. About 800,000 people commit suicide in the world every year 86 percent of whom come from low and medium income groups.
These views were expressed by the vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Health Sciences and renowned psychiatrist, Professor Malik H Mubashir, Health Services Punjab Director General Dr Aslam Chaudhry, Psychiatrist Professor Ijaz Haider, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Professor Aftab Asif, Pakistan Medical Society Chairman Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh and renowned medical practitioner from the United States, Dr Nisar A Chaudhry, while addressing a national conference held in connection with 'World Mental Health Day' here at the Government College for Women Gulberg Lahore on Wednesday. The day was observed with the theme of "Mental Health in a Changing World: The Impact of Culture and Diversity".
According to a WHO report, one in every five people in the world faces mental health problem which requires mental healthcare. Over 50 percent of the problems related to mental health emerge before the age of 14.
Speaking on the occasion, Professor Malik H Mubashir said that all efforts should be made to promote mental and emotional health, prevent mental disorders, and ensure access to appropriate mental healthcare for the people in the developing countries. This would help reduce the global persona, social and economic burden associated with mental disorders and emotional ill health. All-out efforts should also be made to cover up the absence of experts dealing with mental health, he added.
Dr Aslam Chaudhry said that mental health should be included in the agenda of public health and we are planning to enhance funds for mental health problems. We are improving the centres for mental health, he added.
He said the recommendations of this national conference would be included in the forthcoming mental health policy. Everybody has now realised that health is not mere absence of disease; rather it is a state of mental, physical, social and spiritual well-being which means mental health must be top priority of every country's government, he added.
Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh said that improvement in the mental health status should be added to the list of fundamental health parameters of every individual. He added that stress and strain of the modern world had endangered mental health. He said patients with mental illnesses were subject to very serious human rights abuses in most of the countries.
He was of the view that smaller clinics should be established to reduce the burden of crowded hospitals and support big and teaching hospitals. He proposed that the number of beds in psychiatric wards should be enhanced. Only one child psychiatrist is available to 4 million children from medium and low-income groups, he added.
There is a dire need to enhance the budget for mental health in developing and under-developed countries he said and added that people have so far not realised that the children below 14 years of age form a major portion of mental health problems, including emotional disorders like depression, anxiety and obsessions, hyper activities, conduct disorders, involving awkward, troublesome, aggressive and anti-social behaviour.
Dr Nisar Chaudhry said that acting upon Islamic teachings, following family traditions of the East and being contented saves the people from mental health problems. He said though the West had made a great advancement in science and technology but has failed to provide peace of mind to its people.
Professor Aftab Asif said that inadequate services were most commonly found in low-income countries. We need to help developing countries implement more effective mental healthcare services, he added. Professor Ijaz Haider said that the percentage of mental health people has arisen from 6 percent to 9 percent in the last decade. There are still a large number of people who need mental care but do not seem willing to take advice, he added.
To mark the day, Pakistan Psychiatric Society also organised a function at King Edward Medical University (KEMU). The vice-chancellor KEMU Professor Mumtaz Hassan was the Chief Guest while Professor Dr Muhammad Riaz Bhatti, Dr Nasir Hussain, Ata ul Haq Qasmi and others spoke on the occasion.
The speakers called for creating more awareness among the people about mental health problems so that burden of disease could be checked. They asked the government to take steps for appointing one each psychiatrist and psychologist at district level apart from establishing psychiatric unit at district level. They also called for taking steps to check the problem of drug addiction.
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