Need for better mental health policies in India

Source: The post need for better mental health policies in India has been created, based on the article “Mental health of medical students can no longer be ignored” published in “Indian Express” on 19th August 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2- Governance-Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Context: The article discusses the urgent need for better mental health policies in India, highlighting the high number of medical student suicides and overall mental health issues. It criticizes the current low funding and poor policy attention, suggests learning from India’s HIV-AIDS program strategies, and calls for community-based and affordable mental health interventions.

For detailed information on Issues with Mental Health and Mental Healthcare in India read this article here

What is the Issue with Mental Health in India?

1. High Suicide Rates: The National Medical Commission reported 122 suicides among medical students over the past five years, highlighting severe mental health issues within this group.
2. Prevalence of Mental Health Conditions: A survey by the Commission revealed that 27.8% of undergraduate students had mental-health conditions and 31.3 per cent of postgraduate students had suicidal thoughts.
3. General Population Affected: The 2015-16 National Mental Health Survey indicated that 10.6% of Indians over 18 suffer from mental disorders, with a significant 16% in the productive age group of 30-49 years affected.
4. Inadequate Resources: The survey also showed an 80% treatment gap due to insufficient human resources and facilities to manage mental health effectively.

What initiative have been taken for Mental Health in India?

1. The National Medical Commission formed a Task Force for medical students’ mental health, addressing 122 suicides in five years.
2. The 2014 National Mental Health Policy and the 2017 Mental Health Act aimed to prioritize mental health but lack clear implementation plans.
3. The Union government allocated Rs 1,000 crore for mental health in the latest budget, with most funds directed to tertiary institutions.
4. Civil society groups like Banyan in Tamil Nadu developed evidence-based interventions, such as the Home Again program, focusing on homeless and mentally ill women, highlighting community-based care models.

What Can India Learn from the HIV-AIDS Program?

1. Strategic Interventions: Use epidemiological evidence to craft interventions. This approach helped in HIV-AIDS control and can guide mental health strategies.
2. Modeling Different Options: Tailor interventions for different regions and groups. This method provided cost-effectiveness data for scaling up HIV-AIDS programs.
3. Advocacy and Stigma Reduction: Engage parliamentarians, media, and judiciary to address systemic issues and reduce stigma, as done in the HIV-AIDS program.
4. Community Engagement: Allocate resources for community involvement. The HIV-AIDS program devoted 25% of its budget to engaging community leaders.
5. Autonomous Agency: Create an agency like NACO to coordinate efforts, mobilize resources, and ensure comprehensive mental health interventions, balancing institutional care with community involvement.

What Should be Done?

1. Implement Community-Based Interventions: Learn from successful programs like Banyan’s Home Again, which addresses the needs of homeless mentally ill women through a five-stage process: awareness, rescue, treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
2. The government needs to prioritize mental health and create community-based and affordable interventions.
3. The task force for medical students’ mental health is a good start, but broader action is needed to address mental health challenges for all citizens.

Question for practice:

Examine how the strategies used in India’s HIV-AIDS program can be applied to improve mental health policies and interventions in India.