BENGALURU: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said that India is facing a possible 'mental health epidemic', and stressed on the need to take up access to treatment facilities by 2022 as a national mission while also addressing the shortage of mental health professionals.He was speaking at the 22nd convocation of National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences ( Nimhans ) here. They are going into a world where their skills are acutely needed more than ever before. The country does not just have a mental health challenge but is also facing a possible mental health epidemic," Kovind said.The technological, economic and demographic changes in the country are transforming the nature of diseases, he said.He added that by 2022, when India celebrates its 75th anniversary of independence, the country must ensure that at least those suffering from serious mental health disorders have been diagnosed and have access to treatment facilities. "It says that 10% of Indians have one or more mental health problem in a nation of 1.3 billion people.. it is a staggering figure. If you put it in context, the number of Indians suffering from mental health problem is larger than the population of Japan," he said.Arguing that mental health issues need to be spoken about more openly, he said India must treat ailments such as depression and stress as diseases that can be cured, and not as guilty secretes.

Source: Times of India December 30, 2017 11:03 UTC