Use technology to implement Mental Health Bill: Official

The use of technology and collaboration with organisations at the ground level will serve as a major boost in effective implementation of Mental Health Bill, a senior Health Ministry official said today.
"We need to use IT as a tool in creating multimedia campaigns, smartphone applications and animated videos to reach out to the masses," Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry said at an event by World Health Organisation, India.
The Mental Healthcare Bill which seeks to decriminalise suicide attempts by mentally ill people and provides the right to better healthcare to those suffering from mental illness was passed recently in the Parliament.

The bill also has a provision to protect and restore property rights of mentally ill people.
According to 2015 figures, total number of people living with depression in India are 56 million which is about 4.5 per cent of total population.
Officials said depression is the largest cause of morbidity worldwide with nearly 260,000 suicides in 2012 in India alone, affecting mostly people in the age group of 15-29 years.

Speaking on the topic 'Depression: Let's Talk', Agarwal noted that while the new bill had created a country-wide advocacy on the issue of depression, cooperation is needed for its implementation.

"We have made a start with the bill but to ensure its implementation, we need to reach out to the masses and talk to the organisations which work at the ground level.
"The culmination of efforts and advocacy of last so many years has resulted in having a new mental health act. We must see that the act is not only implemented on paper but also in spirit. We have to move ahead and remove the stigma associated with depression," he said.
Agarwal recognised the lack of trained professionals as a reason for lower focus on mental health in the country.

"Focus on mental healthcare has been low due to unavailability of trained manpower, psychiatrists and social workers in some states. That is also the reason that the National Mental Health Programme has not taken off with the required speed," he said.
Agarwal also called for inclusion of mental health services at regular health centres so that the patients "do not face stigma or restriction" in visiting healthcare units.
"Integrating mental health with the regular health centres is also important. Mental health checkups should be treated as normal as regular checkups. Once we are able to do that the situation will improve," he said.

While Henk Bekedam, WHO representative to India, appreciated the government's initiatives in health policies, he called for proper allocation of funding in districts and rural areas.
"India is still not spending much on healthcare. The funds given by the government are still on the lower side. Although the National Health Policy of 2017 has set an investment target of 2.5 per cent of GDP, large part of it should reach the people in need, its proper allocation needs more attention.
"65-70 per cent of the Indians live in rural areas. We know that qualified doctors would not like to visit rural areas and this also serves as a big challenge," Bekedam said.

Rajesh Sagar, professor of Psychiatry at AIIMS in New Delhi said according to projections for 2030, depression will be the leading cause of disability.
According to National Mental Health Survey 2016, the lifetime prevalence of depression was 2.7 per cent for India.