Kendrapada (Odisha): The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued directives to all Chief Secretaries and Administrators of the States and Union Territories to act on its advisories on mental health care across the country.
The full bench of the NHRC including the Chairperson and all its members passed the order recently while adjudicating a Petition filed by Human Rights Activist Radhakanta Tripathy.
The NHRC issued the advisories in October 2020 and in May last year covering aspects like suicide prevention, right to access mental healthcare, promotion of mental health and preventive programmes, extending outreach of mental health support and post-Covid management in view of the pandemic and rise in incidents of suicide.
Tripathy in his petition pointed out the rise in suicide cases in the country with the outbreak of Covid19 and the failure of the government to take care of people’s mental health due to lack of medical facilities.
Tripathy further submitted that the State Governments and Union Territories have failed to implement the provisions of the Health Care Act, 2017 with regard to mental health issues.
Quoting WHO report, he said about 50 million Indians are suffering from depression.
He alleged that the failure of the Government to recognise persons of unsound mind and those with mental illness, and the inability to take care of them during the Coronavirus pandemic amounts to a denial of human rights of these vulnerable people.
Inactive, Lackadaisical and negligent attitude of Government pose a serious threat to basic human rights of the poor people, migrant workers, daily wagers and farmers, Tripathy alleged Mental health issues in India receive scant attention, even though it, too, wreaks carnage, devastates families, harms and kills scores of people.
Post-pandemic, the country is on the verge of another health crisis, with daily doses of death, isolation and fear generating widespread psychological trauma, Tripathy pointed out.
Crime and law and order problem in India is on the rise and will worsen further as the government has failed to take care of the mental health of the people. Even as the Statute provides for the inclusion of mental illness under insurance cover, as of now no steps has been taken to give effect to it.
He requested the NHRC to make context-specific planning of health-care services at the state level, take effective measures for community-based mental health interventions, psycho-education, psychosocial rehabilitation, support for livelihood during Covid and post-Covid periods, and ensure the mental health of every citizen by preventing, treating and curing mental illness. (UNI)
