The picture of mental health in Nepal

Mental Health Of Nepal is probably the most affected and offhanded sector. The below data shows the urgent need to overhaul the whole mental health situation, policy and strategy in Nepal:

*20 per cent of the population is affected by some form of mental disorder, and this dwarfs any other disease
* Yet, only 0.15 per cent of the health care budget is spent on mental health
* There are only 40 licensed psychiatrists and five clinical psychologists for a population of 28 million people
* Traditional healers are primary care givers
* There is extreme stigmatisation and ostracisation
* Mental health is a human rights issue because many patients are sent to jail because of their illness
* Mental health is not a priority for the donor community
* Out of six people with disabilities, four have mental disorders.
* The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed in May this year to promote the human rights of people living with mental or physical disabilities.

Reference:from the article of Jagannath Lamichhane

The figures are as of 2011

*5,572 people—2,468 female and 3,104 male—chose to die in Nepal in 2012 according to the figure published by WHO. The suicide rate in Nepal is the second highest after Srilanka in South Asia. Mainly the young age group have been found more vulnerable of suicide

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *