MENTAL HEALTH & HUMAN RIGHTS: A COMBINE ANALYSIS

Mental which is one of the crucial issues that the entire world is facing in normal life as well as during this unprecedented time of pandemic which is affected everyone directly or indirectly. But the main concern in this Covid time is the mental health crisis which can be the result of any stress be it economic, health, relationships, job, family issue etc.

But if we deeply analyse the situation of India in the field of tackling of mental health problem and the measures taken by the government then it can directly lead us to the mental health care act, 2017 which has replaced the mental health act, 1987. But the provision of the act of 2017 has not incorporated every mental issue be it chapter 1 of the act, 2017 dealing with the definition of mental illness or provision related to admission of patients with mental illness or nominees or other provisions of the act has not adequately covered the entire problem of mental illness especially for the people with mental illness wandering in a public place who has no family or any relative.

Some news highlights on mental health[1] issue analysis by WHO[2] and other reputed organisations[3]:

· WHO also estimates that about 7.5 per cent Indians suffer from some mental disorder and predicts that by end of this year roughly 20 per cent of India will suffer from mental illnesses. According to the numbers, 56 million Indians suffer from depression and another 38 million Indians suffer from anxiety disorders.

· WHO also states that the mental health workforce in India is not up to the mark and there is a huge shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists in the country as compared to the number of people suffering from mental health issues. WHO states that in India, (per 100,000 populations) there are psychiatrists (0.3), nurses (0.12), psychologists (0.07) and social workers (0.07), while the desirable number is anything above 3 psychiatrists and psychologists per 100,000 populations.

· Lancet studies suggest that India’s contribution to global suicide deaths increased from 25·3% in 1990 to 36·6% in 2016 among women, and from 18·7% to 24·3% among men. As per the National Mental Health Survey 2015-16 , conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, under the purview of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, it was revealed that 9.8 million teenagers in the age group 13-17 years suffer depression and other mental health disorders and are “in need of active intervention”. Whereas, according to a study by the Lancet, suicide deaths ranked first among all causes of death in women aged 15-29 years in 26 of the 31 states, and in women aged 15-39 years in 24 states in the country.

· According to the burden of mental disorders across the states of India: The Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2017 – One in seven Indians were affected by mental disorders of varying severity in 2017 and the proportional contribution of mental disorders to the total disease burden in India has almost doubled since 1990.

· WHO estimates that the burden of mental health problems in India is 2443 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100 00 population; the age-adjusted suicide rate per 100 000 population is 21.1. The economic loss due to mental health conditions, between 2012-2030, is estimated at USD 1.03 trillion.

UTKARSH

NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY, BHOPAL

[1] https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/world-mental-health-day-2020-in-numbers-the-burden-of-mental-disorders-in india51627/#:~:text=WHO%20also%20estimates%20that%20about,Indians%20suffer%20from%20anxiety%20disorders. [2] https://www.who.int/india/health-topics/mental-health [3] https://aif.org/status-of-mental-health-in-india/