Ahsan Iqbal vows to implement national mental health policy

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has called on the Pakistan Psychiatric Society (PPS) to draft a National Mental Health Policy, pledging to have it approved and implemented by the current government.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 24th International Psychiatric Conference in the federal capital, which concluded here on Friday, he highlighted the nation’s ongoing mental health challenges and stressed the need for collective action to address them. Organised by the PPS under the theme “Mental Health to Global Mental Health: A Need for a Public Mental Health Approach for Intersectoral Collaboration and Contribution,” the conference brought together over 40 international delegates and leading mental health experts.

Highlighting the nation’s mental health crisis, the minister lamented the traumas Pakistan has endured, including wars, terrorism, suicide attacks, sectarian violence, and natural disasters. These events, he noted, have left deep scars on the collective psyche of the nation. Renowned psychiatrist Prof Saeed Farooq noted that around 10,000 residents of Islamabad, or four percent of the city’s population, suffer from severe mental health conditions like schizophrenia. He deplored the absence of mental health coverage in programmes such as the Sehat Sahulat Programme and urged the federal minister to include severe psychiatric illnesses in universal health schemes.

PPS President Prof Ghulam Rasool stressed that the lack of a national mental health policy and inadequate mental health resources were exacerbating the disease burden. He called for immediate action to address these gaps and ensure equitable access to mental health services across the country.

PPS president-elect Dr Wajid Ali Akhunzada emphasised the need to integrate mental health services into primary care.