PHA-Exchange> BBC: Mentally ill 'suffering neglect'

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel vern.weitzel at gmail.com

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6977262.stm


Mentally ill 'suffering neglect'

In some countries, mental illness is seen as a stigma
Mentally ill people in the developing world are being badly neglected,
according
to a study published in the Lancet medical journal.
The authors say mental illness makes up about 14% of global disease, more
than
cancer or heart disease.

Up to 800,000 people commit suicide each year, mostly in poorer countries.

Despite this, the authors say, 90% of sufferers in developing countries
receive
no care - and in some cases are chained to trees or kept in cages.

Health officials call for new strategies and more money for treatment of the
mentally ill in the developing world in a special series published by the
Lancet.

They warn that as more people suffer from mental problems as a result of
war,
poverty and disease, unless widespread treatment becomes available, poor
countries will be further handicapped in the future.

The study says that in poor rural communities, families living in poverty
cope
the best they can with mentally ill relatives, but are often unable to
afford
medication or specialised care.

In developing countries, few can afford psychiatric treatment
It says poor mental health makes people more prone to other health problems
-and then they are also less likely to get the medical help, social support
and
treatment they need.

only 7% to 8% of an
estimated 40 million to 50 million people in India who were victims of some
form
of mental illness - schizophrenia, depression, obsessive compulsive
disorder,
anxiety - got proper treatment.

 many of the experts say basic mental health services can be provided
cheaply
and simply, especially if they are made part of general healthcare.
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