KARACHI: Speakers at an awareness programme on Thursday urged the go­vernment to make mental health part of primary healthcare and support initiatives aimed at rehabilitating people with psychiatric illnesses.

Organised at a hotel by Karwan-i-Hayat (KH), a non-governmental organisation providing treatment and rehabilitation services to mentally ill patients in Karachi, the event was aimed at sensitizing government officials to a mental health project being carried out by civil society organisations in Karachi and Mitiari.

Dr Saleem Ahmed of the KH said there had been a drastic change over the years in the ways psychiatric patients were treated. Earlier, such pat­ients were isolated and admitted to a hospital but most patients at present were treated at home within a family and community, he said.

The new strategy, he argued, was an effective method to treat mentally ill patients as they often needed long-term support, not just to recover from the disease but also to regain their productive status in society.

He regretted that mental health seemed to be nowhere in government priorities as it failed to get the importance that it deserved. “Mental illness is still a neglected subject in Pakistan and generally people lack knowledge about it,” he said.

The NGO, he said, had established a community psychiatry centre in 2011 in collaboration with some partners. The centre, he said, was based on the idea that psychiatric treatment and services should be closer to home. “The centre set up camps in Malir and Korangi and provides consultation and medicines to psychiatric patients. Follow-up camps are also held for patients to sustain their recovery process and reduce relapse rates,” he explained.

Saba Naz of the KH said the project was started in Korangi in 2013 by HANDS, an NGO working in various areas of community development, and was later joined by the KH.

A number of patients had been provided training in skills building and self-business as well as jobs under the project based on a mental health and development model, which was formulated by BasicNeeds, an international development organization established to improve the lives of those living with mental illness and epilepsy.

“Over 1,000 patients have been registered so far under the project (funded by BasicNeeds) in Malir and Korangi. Of them, 60 patients have recovered and are on job while 940 are still under tre­at­­ment,” she said, while explaining that psychiatric illnesses often required long-term treatment.

Highlighting how the BasicNeeds was launched, Murtaza Noorani, its representative, said the organisation was founded in 2000 by the UK-based Chris Underhill, a social entrepreneur working with marginalized people, with an aim to ensure treatment of mentally ill with active involvement of their families and communities and support them to realize their potential.

The Pakistan programme was launched in 2011 and the mental health and development model was formally implemented in 2013 in the country.

Sharing some data on mental health, he said it was estimated that about 30 per cent to 40pc people of the total population in Pakistan were suffering from mental illnesses and the major challenge was still lack of awareness. “A lot of stigma is attached with mental illness that has low acceptance in society, especially in rural areas. There is also an issue of lack of ownership on part of the government and funding constraints,” he said.

BasicNeeds-Pakistan chief executive offi­cer Zafar Dehraj said the project was being implemented in Mitiari with the help of Sindh Graduates Association.

“Around 2,700 patients have so far be­en registered in Karachi and Mitiari. The project will end next year and we are worried as to how we can continue to assist these poor patients,” he said, adding that NGOs had limited budgets and a larger impact of any effort was not possible without government support.

Social welfare secretary Shariq Ahmed and KH CEO Zaheeruddin Babar also spoke.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2015

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