ISLAMABAD: The second World Brain Day was observed in Pakistan on the recommendation of World Federation of Neurology (WFN) on Wednesday but went largely unnoticed in the federal capital.

World Brain Day is observed with the aim of spreading awareness of mental health and neurological disorders.

Last year, doctors had decided to inform people about the risk of stroke from neurological disorders.

Dementia, headache, depression, migraine, epilepsy, tumours, traumatic injury, infections, sleep disorders and genetic disorders can also lead to stroke, a leading cause of disability all over the world.

Eminent neurologist Dr Maimoona Siddiqui told Dawn that this year’s theme was epilepsy. She said that epilepsy was a treatable neurological disorder but a lot of people, especially in rural areas, attribute epilepsy to black magic. Instead of taking patients to a doctor, they are taken to religious healers and quacks, she said.

“Epilepsy was selected as this year’s theme so that awareness could be raised about epilepsy, which is the second major neurological disorder after stroke. People should be informed about the treatment available for epilepsy,” she said.

The doctor said that in Pakistan, some people believed that epilepsy was contagious. “It is a simple neurological disorder and with treatment, a patient can live a normal life,” she said.

According to a statement issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly one in 10 people suffer from a mental disorder but only one per cent of the global health workforce is working in the mental health sector. This means that nearly half of the world’s population lives in places where less than one psychiatrist sees per 100,000 people.

According to the WHO’s Mental Health Atlas 2014, in low and middle-income countries, rates of access fall below one per 100,000 people, whereas in high income countries the rate is one per 2,000 people.

The report also states that global spending on mental health is still very low. Low and middle-income countries spend less than $2 per capita per year on mental health, whereas high-income countries spend more than $50.

The majority of spending is going to mental hospitals, which serve a small proportion of those who need care. High-income countries still have a far higher number of mental hospital beds and admission rates than low-income countries.

Training of primary care staff in mental health is critical to building capacity for recognising and treating persons with severe and common mental disorders. Since 2011, the number of nurses working in mental health has increased by 35 per cent, but shortages still exist in all disciplines, particularly in low and middle-income countries, the report notes.

According to the Atlas, countries are making progress on creating policies, plans, and laws for mental health.

Since most of the policies and laws were not fully in line with international human rights instruments, implementation is often weak, and persons with mental disorders and family members are marginally involved in their development.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2015

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