The first International Conference of Saarc Psychiatric Federation began in Agra on Saturday with a call for co-operation and co-ordination between regional members to deal with mental health problems found to be of a similar nature in the South Asian region.
Inaugurating the conference, Professor Juanmazzich, President, World Psychiatric Association said Asia which had been neglected for long was now going ahead with a new and vibrant society taking the lead. The Saarc Psychiatric Society formed in Lahore a year ago would help stimulate growth in the study of psychiatry that would augur well for mental health in the region, he added.
He stressed that psychiatry should be practised in a scientific humanistic and ethical manner to fulfil aspirations of people in the region. The Saarc Federation had been formed to address mental health problems peculiar to the South Asian Region, Professor S Nambi, President, Indian Psychiatric Society said.
More India-Pakistan co-operation in the field of psychiatry would be seen in the form of Meets in Delhi and Lahore, Professor Haroun Rashid Chaudhry a participant from Pakistan said.
Stress and new lifestyles play a major role in shifting family and society paradigms which affects both the individual and society, said U C Garg who helped organise the three-day conference attended by over five hundred delegates from Saarc countries.