Mental health - most neglected field in Pakistan - Lahore Mental Health Association a home of happiness.

Byline: Dr. Shahid A. Zia

On February 11, 2022 Mr. Asad Qaiser, Speaker National Assembly Pakistan visited Fountain House, Lahore to grace the occasion commemorating its 101 year old Building.

Pakistan is home to 227,787,129 (227 million) people as of Friday, February 11, 2022, based on Worldometer elaboration. That is 2.83% of the total world population ranking it 5th in the list of countries. 35.1% of the population is urban with the median age being 22.8 years.

Mental health is the most neglected field in Pakistan where 10-16% of the population suffers from mild to moderate psychiatric illness, majority of which are women. With only one psychiatrist for every 10,000 persons suffering from any of the mental disorders, while one child psychiatrist for four million children, who are estimated to be suffering from mental health issues. Only four major psychiatric hospitals exist and it is one the major factors behind increase in number of patients with mental disorders.

This paucity of mental health professionals in Pakistan creates a massive treatment gap, leaving more than 90% of people with common mental disorders untreated. Thus, majority of the sychiatric patients go to traditional faith healers and religious healers who believe that mental illness is caused by supernatural forces such as spirit possession or testing by God. "All this is due to acute shortage of mental health professionals and relatively low levels of awareness about mental disorders".

Pakistan among the other developing countries, has a higher prevalence rate of depression because of the current social adversities. Major mental disorders in Pakistan are depression (6%), schizophrenia (1.5%) and epilepsy (1-2%). Mean overall prevalence of depressive disorders and anxiety is 34%. Province wise prevalence is: Sindh 16%, Punjab 8%, Balochistan 40%, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 5%.

Lahore has the highest number of depressives that is 53.4% as compared to Quetta (43.9%) and Karachi (35.7%). The current situation in Pakistan along with other basic health problems, the social upheaval, political instabilities, lawlessness, terrorism, economic disparity, problems with security, safety, gas and electric load shedding, escalating prices of petrol, gas, and other basic necessities of life has created a ground fertile for depression which has almost taken the first position among all the psychiatric conditions.

The healthcare systems in this part of the world and particularly mental health...