Nearly one in three Nepalis will have a mental health problem at some point in their life. But on current trends most of them will silently suffer rather than seek help. There is still a lot of stigma attached to having a mental illness and coming out can be tough on the sufferers. But at least those in Kath­mandu, where nearly all the mental health facilities in Nepal are concen­trated, will have somewhere to go should they decide to get themselves treated. Those in other parts of the country may not be as fortunate. Untreated mental illnesses are a big burden on the sufferers and their families but they also weigh heavy on the economy. According to WHO, mental illnesses typically cost a country between 3-4 percent of its Gross National Product. Yet Nepal currently allocates under one percent of national health budget for mental health. The priority is still on physical illness whose symptoms are clearly visible rather than mental illness whose symptoms may not be as apparent. Moreover, the govern­ment seems to have almost given up on mental health, in the erroneous belief that there are enough NGOs around to deal with it. There are not.

 

APEX heard harrowing tales of people living with various mental health disorders, most of them suf­fering silently. We clearly need a more open debate on mainstream­ing of mental health disorders, which should ideally be treated no differently than other physical ailments. In fact, debilitating mental health problems, which often lead to suicides and destroy lives and fami­lies, are potentially lethal.

 

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