Health service woefully inadequate as psychological illness afflicts nearly one in seven people
Rock Ronald Rozario and Stephan Uttom, Dhaka Bangladesh
November 11, 2019
Bangladesh is grappling with a rising number of mentally ill adults and children and has inadequate facilities and medical professionals to cope, according to a new study.
About 17 percent of adults aged 18-60 suffer from 13 types of psychological disorders and about 14 percent children aged 6-17 suffer from eight types of mental illness, says the National Mental Health Survey, Bangladesh 2018-19, published on Nov. 7.
That means about 13.8 percent of the population — 22.5 million people out of 163 million in this impoverished South Asian nation — have to endure various types of mental sickness, the study found.
The research was carried out jointly by three groups from April to June: the state-run National Institute of Mental Health, the Directorate General of Health Services and the World Health Organization.
The study collected data by surveying 7,270 adults and 2,246 children from all of 64 civil districts in the country.
The previous study, carried out in 2004-05, showed about 16 percent adults were suffering from mental health problems.
The government has drawn up legislation to raise awareness, to “eliminate social stigma and taboo” related to mental illness and to address the lack of facilities and psychiatrists in the country, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Zahid Maleque said during the report launch.
The findings are especially concerning given the serious shortage of facilities and professionals, said Dr. Mekhla Sarker, an associate professor at the National Institute of Mental Health.
“We have only 250 mental health experts and 60 clinical psychologists in this country,” Sarker told ucanews. “Child psychologists are almost non-existent, while there are 10,000 doctors and 12,000 nurses with minimum mental health training.
“Mental health is a rising menace but we don’t have the capacity to tackle it, so the situation is worsening.”
Indictment on 21st century lifestyles
Declining family bonds, a lack of natural entertainment, drug abuse and increasing addiction to the digital world are the main drivers of psychological illness today, she pointed out.
“In the past, our children grew up in families and societies that offered them enough care and space for natural entertainment and socialization, but these have declined,” Sarker said. “Now, parents are busy, so children find pleasure in mobile phones, games and the virtual world.
“While they are exposed to evils in cyberspace, they become isolated from the real world, which leads to various mental problems.”
Bangladesh has only two state-funded medical facilities for mental patients and the sector is allocated less than one percent of the annual national health budget.Top of Form
There are dozens of private facilities for mental health services but many cannot afford the treatment in a country where about a quarter of the population is still classified as extremely poor.
Social stigma, lack of awareness, negligence and poverty are all combining to worsen the conditions for mental patients, said Sister Lipy Gloria Rozario, a Catholic nun from the Our Lady of Sorrows religious order and director of the Healing Heart Counseling Unit in Dhaka.
“Many people still don’t consider mental problem as a sickness, so sufferers face abuse and discrimination both in their families and society,” Sister Rozario told ucanews. “People often neglect their own mental well-being and also hide the disease fearing the social stigma attached to it.
“There are few state-funded facilities, while private facilities are expensive and beyond the reach of many poor patients.”
The nun, who also teaches psychological counseling in various universities, said educational institutes and hospitals “denied us access” when she and her group approached and offered free mental health training and workshops in recent years.
“It means there is a serious lack of awareness about mental well-being, even among educated and well-off people,” she said.
However, the Catholic Church has lent support and a three-year project for mental health awareness in underway, the nun said.
Over the next three years, Sister Rozario and her group will organize mental health workshops in 18 church-run educational institutes in Dhaka Archdiocese, reaching about 9,000 students, parents and teachers.
“We hope our small efforts will yield success, and we would like to spread it to other parts of the country in future,” she added.