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Global mental health summit, 2009

The Mental depression is known as silent and mute pandemic.
Hitherto this problem was not addressed at global level and the
present convention on this problem is a welcome step.

Om Prakash
Yadav
The first ever summit on Mental Health was
convened in Athens, the capital of Greece on 2-6th
September, 2009. This Global Mental Health Summit
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(GMH) was hosted as a part of world federation for

mental health biennial congress. It was the first global
initiative in this regard to focus attention on the
growing problem of metal disorders and mental
depressions. This summit was supported by global
organisations like Lancet, The welcome trust and
World’s initiative on psychiatry etc. The theme of this
conglomeration was ‘working together for Mental
Health’. The theme itself signifies the importance of
this congress which is the first global concerted and
serious effort in this regard. The participants
deliberated upon among other things issues like
scaling up mental health in low income countries,
human rights and metal disorders (how human
right violations take place of the mentally
disordered patients, chaining, whipping etc are
frequently reported in media in India and other
countries also.) and strategies for future.
With the changing pace of time in terms of economic,
social, political and ethical metamorphosis, the stress
on mind, cutting across the social stratum, is now a
global phenomenon. Its impact is devastating both in
terms of mental agony and social disorder. The
impact may not be as perceptible and discernible as
any other pandemics like H1N1 etc, but its long term
impact on social and psychological tapestry is more
deleterious than any other disease. It is perhaps due
to this fact, the mental health disorder or mental
depressions are termed as silent and mute
pandemic.
According to one rough estimate, because there
is no census on this issue in India, there are roughly
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40 million people suffer from mental depressions.

Number of mental illness, which is an advance stage
of mental disorder, is about 30 to 35 lakhs in India.
According to National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH), by 2010 this disease will be largest and shall
overtake cardiovascular disease in this country. The
global figure of metal depression persons is around
120 million, and this number is increasing by leaps
and bounds. Many psychiatrics are of the opinion that
the ongoing Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has only
added to the agony. The uncertain future, job cuts,
rising inflation and soaring unemployment have
inflamed the situation. There is however no such
survey or specific scientific study conducted on this
issue, the recession has inflated depression and there
is no doubt about it.
Under the prevailing circumstances, this summit
is being attached immense significance both in India
and abroad. In India the availability of psychiatrics
and psychiatric nurse is dismal. There is only 0.05
Psychiatric per one lakh patients in India whereas the
trained nurses for this job are 0.16 per one lakh only.
Hopefully this World Summit would spread
awareness and will make people acquainted with the
horrifying scenario of this silent but deadly pandemic.
Although we have enacted legislation in 1987 itself,
which is known as Mental Health Act, 1987, this law
requires amendment because either most of the
provisions have become obsolete or they are not in
commensurate with the changing pace of problem. A
comprehensive bill with respect to this disease or
disorder, whatever one calls it, is lying pending; it
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therefore be discussed and with necessary changes

be passed as soon as possible.