Even though the State has a taskforce, the mental health issue has not been given the due importance, said Health Services Director Bijay Kumar Mahapatra at a national-level consultation organised by the Odisha Rising Foundation (ORF) on “Mental Health: “Mindfulness Rising on children, Adolescents and Youth†in collaboration with the NIMHANS, Bangalore here on Saturday.
Mahapatra said there is a shortage of trained manpower to address the issue properly.
The aim of this consultation was to prepare a robust Odisha State specific road map which will be curated by all the prime stakeholders working in the fields of mental health said ORF co-founder and COO Raj Laxmi Dash.
Post Covid, India is facing a mental health crisis like never before. The World Health Organisation reported that more than 15 per cent of the adult population suffers from one or more mental illnesses, needing active medical intervention, and every one in 20 Indians suffers from severe depression.
Over a billion people are living within a fragile and critical healthcare ecosystem. India has the global highest rate of suicides, with a loss of 700 lives each day due to complex socioeconomic factors as well as mental illnesses, the speakers said.
The consultation workshop was presided over by Professor Dr Shekhar Seshadri (Head of Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) NIMHANS, Banglore and Akshay Sagar, Co- founder and CEO, Odisha Rising Foundation.
Among others, Kaberi Muduli OSD to Chairman, Mo School, Dr. Biswaranjan Mishra, HOD Psychiatry AIIMS BBSR, Satyabrata Minaketan, chairman, ODM group of institutions and Parasuram Moharana Chairperson, CWC also spoke.
