AS far as governments in Pakistan are concerned, whether at the federal or the provincial level, little progress is ever made without an agonising stop-start process.

With World Mental Health Day having passed on Saturday, it is worth taking up the matter of legislation and its enforcement meant to protect sufferers of this malady.

For those with mental health disorders, Pakistan is indeed a difficult terrain to traverse. For most of the country’s existence, the relevant legislation was the Lunacy Act of 1912, despite the fact that medical science in this area has been a firmly established discipline for decades.

Take a look: Sindh govt yet to establish mental health authority

This legislation in Pakistan was finally replaced with the Mental Health Ordinance 2001 upon pressure from NGOs. However, this remained unimplemented until the health sector devolved to the provinces. And though Sindh took the lead amongst the provinces by passing the Sindh Mental Health Act 2013, it has yet to take the basic steps that will allow proper implementation of the law.

The (provincial) legislation requires the setting up of a 14-member mental health authority comprising a judge, health-sector representatives and appropriate medical specialists.

This is required to develop and establish new standards for patient care, present recommendations to improve existing mental health centres and set up a board for inspections, amongst other things. None of these, according to experts, are in place, and without them, the mentally ill remain vulnerable to abuse in an atmosphere where empathy and understanding are absent.

Can figures in authority take the lead in fulfilling the requirements under the law? Surely, the rights of such sufferers should not be denied simply because they are unable to lobby for themselves.

Further, given the trauma this nation and its people have suffered over the past decade or so as the security situation unravelled and terrorism took root, the need for a solid mental healthcare infrastructure may be far greater than is currently recognised. For that to take shape, implementation of the law is necessary.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2015

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