A Centre for Mental Health (CMH) was launched recently under the aegis of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), to address gaps in the area of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) disorders. The Centre will be a collaborative network of institutions in South Asia, with the shared goals of promoting research, building capacity and advocacy aimed at reducing inequalities in access to care and health outcomes for people affected by MNS disorders.
The Centre will be headed by Prof Vikram Patel, who is an Adjunct Professor at PHFI, Joint Director of the Centre for Global Mental Health, Professor of International Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and founder of the mental health NGO Sangath in Goa.
Outlining the vision for CMH, Prof Vikram Patel said “We now know about the enormous toll of mental disorders in India, and why they are a public health priority as well as the treatments that can transform the quality of life and affect the family. Now we need to build capacity and evidence in India’s national health system to make these treatments available, assessable and affordable to all who need it. This is precisely our mission at the Centre for Mental Health at the Public Health Foundation of India”
Dr K Srinath Reddy, President PHFI said, “The opportunity for a Centre for Mental Health (CMH), which can build on these developments to promote research, capacity building and advocacy in this discipline, has never been more promising or urgent. Public Health Foundation of India has already recognised mental health as one of the priority research areas and had constituted a Mental Health Special Interest Group in February 2009. Establishment of CMH will further bolster this initiative and will be instrumental in fulfilling the mandate of PHFI and aim to make PHFI the leading institution in the region in this discipline.”
CMH will offer a platform for the various mental health initiatives at PHFI. It will also support projects such as PRIME (Programme for Improving Mental Health Care), EMERALD (Emerging Mental Health Systems in Low and Middle Income Countries) which aim to strengthen mental health systems in low and middle income countries and several other mental health projects at PHFI and partner organisations.
In India there has been renewed interest for mental health care, with the completion of the process of revising the Indian Mental Health Care Act by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Moreover, a Mental Health Policy Group was established by the Government in May 2011 with the goal of redesigning the National Mental Health Program and writing India’s first National Mental Health Policy.
EH News Bureau