Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pawar on Tuesday said as per the National Mental Health Survey 2016, conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru in 12 states of the country, the prevalence of depressive disorders among adults of 18+ years population in India is estimated to be 2.7 per cent,

The Minister said this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Pawar said that as per the survey, mental health problems are both a cause and consequence of several disorders, non-communicable diseases, addiction problems, injury and violence, social problems and are linked to social determinants of health.

For providing affordable and accessible mental healthcare facilities to the population, the Government is implementing the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in the country, she said, adding that the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) component of the NMHP has been sanctioned for implementation in 704 districts for which support is provided to states/UTs through the National Health Mission.

Pawar in her reply said that the facilities made available under DMHP at the Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) levels include outpatient services, assessment, counselling/psychosocial interventions, care and support to persons with severe mental disorders, drugs, outreach services, ambulance services etc.

In addition to the above services, there is a provision of 10 bedded in-patient facility at the district level.

MoS Health said further that at the district level, sufficient funds are provided to districts under the DMHP under the non-communicable diseases flexi-pool of the National Health Mission for IEC and awareness generation activities in the community, schools, workplaces, with community involvement.

Responding to the question, she said in her reply that under District Mental Health Programme, funds of Rs 84.13 crore has been approved for states and UTs under National Health Mission for the year 2020-21.

Under the tertiary care component of the National Mental Health Programme, 25 Centers of Excellence and 47 PG Departments have been sanctioned to increase the intake of students in PG departments in mental health specialities as well as to provide tertiary level treatment facilities. For this scheme, Rs 35 crore have been allocated for the year 2020-21, she added in response. (AS/IANS)

Keywords: (Health, Mental Health, Depression, Depressive Disorder, Adults, Depression in India)