Moment for the mindspace

NEW DELHI: In the backdrop of World Mental Health Day, which was observed on Monday, consider a few data points specific to Tamil Nadu. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says that the state has recorded the second highest number of suicides in India from 2018 to 2021.

With 18,925 suicides, it trails only behind Maharashtra, with 22,207 suicides, in 2021. Between 2014 and 2019, Chennai emerged as the city with the maximum number of suicides, which claimed the lives of more young women than men.

Marital conflicts and interpersonal issues ranked among the common causes, while mood disorders and hormonal changes have found a mention among causative agents for suicide among women.

It might be challenging to view these statistics alongside figures that paint India as a superpower in the making. But the truth of how fractured we are as a society comes forth in these unvarnished numbers.

The loss of thousands of lives could be prevented with an ecosystem that recognises the gravity of the problem in the first place. A study undertaken a few years ago revealed that mental health professionals, which include psychologists and psychiatrists, are in short supply in India.

The country has 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 of the population, while the desirable number is above 3 psychiatrists per 100,000.

Per the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2002, this is a conservative estimate if one considers the figures of 6 psychiatrists per 100,000 population in high-income countries.

A reticence to make substantial investments in addressing mental health concerns exacts a heavy toll on the economy. Poor mental health costs the global economy a whopping $1 trillion annually in lost productivity, as per WHO data.

In India alone, the economic loss due to mental health conditions between 2012 and 2030 would be around $1.03 trillion. Filter that down to Tamil Nadu and we see that suicides in 2021 alone have cost us a staggering Rs 30,000 crore or 1.3% of the state GDP.

So how do we tackle this issue? An analysis by the Indian Mental Health Observatory stated that in this year’s Union Budget, allocation to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) has gone up marginally by 3% compared to Budget Estimate (BE) for FY 2022-23 (Rs 89,155 crore as against Rs 86,201 crore in the previous year).

The total budget outlay for health and related programmes amounts to 2% of the fiscal outlay of the Union government. At Rs 919 crore, the BE for mental health is just above 1% of BE of the MoHFW.

Allocations for mental health under the two centrally funded mental health institutions and the National Tele-Mental Health Programme (T-MANAS) have also increased by 16% from Rs 791 crore in FY 2022–23 to Rs 919 crore for the upcoming FY.

While it is commendable that the government is focussing on interventions like T-MANAS, it is imperative that investments are made in improving and offering community-based mental healthcare services.

What we need is increased budgetary allocations towards strengthening the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) at the community level, as required by the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. Initiating community-based models of mental health intervention is also a need of the hour.