Mental health issues and psychiatric morbidities affect millions of people in India, and the situation is particularly dire in rural areas where mental health resources are scarce. The need to bridge the availability of mental health services, create awareness, and teach adolescents emotional regulation becomes all the more important as news of a new student suicide surfaces every week.
In a major step forward in addressing the critical issue, the Australian High Commissioner to India, Barry O’Farrell, and the Consul General Chennai, Sarah Kirlew, announced a Direct Aid Program (DAP) Grant to The George Institute for Global Health India to implement mental health initiatives in Telangana. The project announcement was made during an event at TGI India’s office in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
The George Institute (TGI) of Global Health, which conducts ground-level research and builds capacity for mental health initiatives among rural settings, has now come up with plans to expand their research in Telangana at the district level. The project, “Strengthening mental health systems through action at district level,” aims to build the capacities of select DMHP (District level mental health programme) teams in Hyderabad to use systems thinking approaches and tools to identify and address bottlenecks.
TGI Program Director for Better Care India, Dr D Praveen said, “We have been working since 2014 to address mental health issues. We started with West Godavari district with 42 villages and 16 primary healthcare centres. Later in 2018, we launched our SMART Mental Health Programme where we work towards bringing change in attitude and thought processes surrounding this subject. It has two parts starting with an Anti-Stigma Campaign for building awareness, and then we train PHV Doctors and ASHA workers. They are equipped with the MH Gap tool, which is a WHO-approved tool and provides basic appropriate treatment.”
Doctors revealed that a similar programme would soon be launched in one Telangana district. The doctors at George Institute said that they would soon communicate with the Telangana government, decide and conduct research for a period of six months, which would soon be adapted by the rest of the state to create a sound mental healthcare system.
The George Institute for Global Health is an independent medical research institute aiming to improve the health of millions of people worldwide by generating effective, evidence-based, and affordable solutions to the world’s biggest health challenges.
