No punitive measures, need to expand mental health services to prevent suicide: State Minister

Dr. M. A. Mohit, State Minister for Health and Family Welfare, has said that instead of punitive measures, emphasis should be placed on expanding the scope of mental health services to prevent suicide. He also urged raising social awareness on mental health and ensuring necessary treatment and counselling services at the upazila and district levels.

The state minister made these remarks as chief guest at a seminar organized by Aachol Foundation and Human Rights Development Centre at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital on Wednesday (September 9). The seminar was titled "From Silence to Action: A Call to Change Perspectives on Youth Suicide."

Dr. M. A. Mohit said it is important to create opportunities for people to speak openly about mental health problems. He said that when someone tries to cope alone with various life crises and adversities, mental stress can gradually build up, which is why mental health needs to be prioritized and extensively addressed.

He said there is a significant shortage of mental health services at the grassroots level in the country. He noted that in many cases, a person at the upazila level suffering from anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts does not know where to seek help. To change this situation, he said the government is emphasizing the introduction of community-based mental health services.

The state minister said a project has been undertaken to expand the infrastructure and capacity of the Pabna Mental Health Institute, which includes constructing a new building alongside efforts to increase the required workforce. He added that there are also plans to make the National Institute of Mental Health in Dhaka more effective and stronger.

He highlighted the initiative to integrate mental health services with general health services at the upazila and district levels, saying tele-counselling, technology-based services and community awareness activities could be utilized in this regard. He also spoke of building an effective referral system from the primary level up to specialized treatment centres.

Criticizing the existing legal framework on suicide, Dr. M. A. Mohit said that treating suicide as a crime under current law creates various complications, which allows the existing social stigma surrounding suicide to deepen further. He said suicide should not be viewed as a crime but should instead be considered from a mental health and public health perspective.

He further said he would discuss the matter with relevant stakeholders to try to understand the existing legal complications, adding that as a member of parliament, he is also interested in working on how the issue could be logically presented.

The state minister called for mental health to be turned into a social movement rather than being seen merely as part of the treatment system. He said awareness needs to be raised among the general public about the importance of mental wellbeing alongside physical wellbeing, and that an environment needs to be built where people act responsibly toward their own mental state as well as that of others.

Experts who spoke at the seminar included Professor Dr Saifun Nahar, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health; Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Professor of the Department of Clinical Psychology at Dhaka University; and Hasina Mumtaz, Professional Officer for Mental Health at the World Health Organization.