Minister for raising awareness about mental health

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiative Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday stressed the need for raising awareness about mental health to ensure physical fitness.

Addressing the launch of the “Mental Health & Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) model at the ministry, the minister said that mental health was a prerequisite for physical health. He said that about 20 million people in the country were facing mental health issues which could be improved by providing proper healthcare services.

Ahsan Iqbal said that due to the absence of such healthcare services, the issue has become more complex, leading to social and economic malaise in society. The minister said that to ensure mental health facilities, the ministry of planning was devising a mechanism in collaboration with the local administration of Islamabad to establish a model mental health care hospital.

He said that this model would be replicated in provinces that would help ensure mental health facilities in all four provinces. He said that the provision of primary healthcare facilities was the responsibility of provincial governments, however, the federal government would also help in strengthening their health infrastructure. The minister also urged the need for creating awareness and sensitizing the masses about mental health.

The MHPSS model, which is multilayered and digitized, rights-based, scalable and sustainable, has been launched on the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to mark World Mental Health Day.

The model aims to engage communities, build the capacity of mental health professionals and develop inter-sectoral collaboration. The model will serve as a perfect response to the growing mental health challenges.

As per estimates of the WHO, over 30 million people in the country suffer from some sort of mental disorder. Pakistan is estimated to have less than 500 psychiatrists in total, which has created a massive gap in the treatment of mental health issues. The paucity of mental health professionals has left untreated more than 80 per cent of people with common mental health disorders.

“I am happy to launch this model which was started in 2016, Ahsan Iqbal said while addressing the launching ceremony of the model. “If the mental health is compromised then it will affect physical health too,” he said while emphasizing the importance of mental health which remained neglected in the country.

He said that initially this model will be implemented in ICT in collaboration with the WHO, the health ministry and the planning commission.

Other speakers highlighted that mental health cases have increased after the recent floods in the country and the government's decision to extend mental health facilities to the primary healthcare level will make a huge difference in rehabilitating the disaster-stricken people.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2022.