Dear Editor,
Shocking it is! “Two of the most common mental health conditions, depression and anxiety, cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year. Despite these figures, the global median of government health expenditure that goes to mental health is less than 2%.” Terrible right? Thus, my remarks and I hope readers pay attention. First, it is quite heartening that “Guyana (is) prioritising Mental Health (and to this end), the Government of Guyana intends to allocate sufficient funds to ensure continued improvement in the country’s mental health programme.” This is the word from Advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who spoke at the opening of the third Mental Health and Well-being Conference held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. He explained that “Whether it’s Mental Health disorders, whether its neurological diseases, whether its substance abuse and the various social issues that we face, Guyana is willing to approach wellness, it’s the reason why in the Ministry of Health prevention programme, road safety is an issue, it’s the reason why domestic violence and sexual abuse are being addressed.”
Is he right? Yes indeed, since mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. In fact, mental health is an integral part of health in general; as there is no health without mental health, and it is determined by a range of socioeconomic, biological and environmental factors. Coming from the World Health Organisation, “Mental Health is an integral and essential component of health; a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” So, we need to bear in mind that an important implication of this definition is that Mental Health is more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities. Editor, we all know the seriousness of mental health issues and it is only appropriate that “… budgetary allocation to tackle this issue has increased over the years and covers the collaborative work of several ministries.”
This was clearly pointed out by Ramsammy, who added that “Guyana’s approach since the 1990’s has been a holistic government approach to Mental Health … with our budget for example in the Ministry of Education, where we in the early 2000’s started an Adolescent Health Programme. For the first time there is a measurable amount of social workers in schools, we are not where we want to be, but for the first time we have that… we have various programmes in various ministries.” My second point is rooted in the current literature on this issue. I iterate that what we know must translate into what we do. It is well-established that mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. It is crucial to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and enjoy life.
On this basis, the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the world. I guess this is precisely the reason for Ramsammy’s detailing that there is “… the need for improved mental health ‘literacy,’ and suggested that the University of Guyana’s curriculum be updated accordingly.” He elaborated that “Suicide kills people, mental health disorders kill people and that understanding we need to develop, not only among ordinary people, among us, policy makers, service providers, our doctors and nurses and unless we have a strong Mental Health Literacy Programme, we cannot talk about wellness.” Succinct and timely! Editor, as you can guess, I am very pleased, on behalf of all those affected that Professor Emanuel Cummings of the University of Guyana informed the audience that “… discussions have started with the Ministry of Education as a follow up to the last conference, to have social workers do internships at schools across the country.”
So, things are falling into place. Guyana has move forward quite a bit, since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government (PPP/C) passed the all-important Mental Health Bill and Suicide Prevention Bill last year, with the aim to use modernised methods of tackling Mental Health issues in the country. I know there is more to come.
Sincerely,
HB Singh
