Indian government takes action on country’s growing mental health problems

Stigma, ignorance and a severe lack of doctors in India have long marred mental health care projects across the country. An otherwise herculean task for the government, India has taken the first step to integrate mental health into public health, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

In what is being termed the first such exercise by the government, India's National Mental Health Policy has been unveiled, that aims to provide universal psychiatric care to the population.

The policy is consistent with a resolution adopted at the 65th World Health Assembly held in Geneva in 2012, to which India also was a party. The resolution highlighted the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response across nations, given the global burden of mental disorders.