Mental health among top priorities for Bangladesh, says article by Saima Wazed and Nazish Arman
Bangladesh is among the first few countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region to place mental health as one of its top 10 priority health conditions.
The country passed a new Mental Health Act in 2018 and is working on finalising a Mental Health Policy, and has developed a National Strategic Plan after conducting a thorough situation analysis involving both professionals and those with lived experiences.
The information was shared by Saima Wazed, chief advisor to the Working Group on the National Mental Health Strategic Plan, and Nazish Arman, lead content developer of Shuchona Foundation, in an opinion piece published by Intern Press Service (IPS) on October 27, 2021 with the title "Mental Health Achievements in Bangladesh".
In the write-up, they said the focus of the Mental Health Act is to protect the dignity of citizens with mental health conditions, provide them with healthcare, ensure their right to property and rehabilitate them.
"The law has 31 sections and will oversee the direction, development, expansion, regulation, and coordination of mental health related issues and duties entrusted to the government," the article said.
It said the National Mental Health Policy 2021 which is currently awaiting final approval, provides an overarching direction by establishing a broad framework for action and coordination, through common vision and values for programmes and mental health service delivery.
"Although still under review, this policy document acknowledges the significance and importance of relevant and useful local knowledge and practices, and adheres to global and regional thinking, taking into perspective the Bangladesh context," the opinion said.
The writers said the 7th Five Year Plan (FYP) and Vision 2021 of the Government of Bangladesh recognised the urgency of addressing mental health and developed a comprehensive system of care that can be implemented within the well tiered health infrastructure.
This plan emphasised that proper health is essential not only for physical well-being but also for economic livelihood, they said, adding that to realise the vision of the 7th FYP, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is implementing its 4th Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Programme (4th HPNSP) from January 2017 to June 2022.
The 4th HPNSP's objectives include strengthening governance, institutional efficiency, expanding access and improving quality within the universal health care system. To achieve the SDGs target, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has committed to ensuring that mental health is a priority in the 4th HPNSP, they said.
Across the globe in most nations, mental health treatment is underfunded and lack a well-designed system of care within the health system primarily due to a limited understanding of how to treat adequately, severe social stigma, and complication of the conditions. The situation is similar in Bangladesh, where mental health has been a low priority in both health services delivery and planning for many years now. To address these issues, developing a comprehensive and multi-sectoral National Mental Health Strategic Plan was the only way forward to ensure access to quality mental healthcare services across the nation, the opinion piece said.
There has been increasing global recognition of the importance of mental health and the significant global burden of mental health conditions in both developing and developed countries, it said.
More than 80 percent of people experiencing them are living without any form of quality, affordable healthcare. Due to negligence and ignorance, there are high levels of mortality through suicide and increased comorbid medical conditions, it mentioned.
According to a study published in 2016, it is estimated that 14.3 percent of deaths worldwide, or approximately 8 million deaths per year are attributable to mental health disorders.
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