Mental health challenges: Special appeal launched for Pakistan, BD

LONDON: His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales charity the British Asian Trust has launched a special appeal to create awareness about the huge mental health challenges in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Supported by a range of celebrity ambassadors from the UK and South Asia the ‘Change Minds’ appeal included an Iftar event at Kensington Palace Pavilion on Tuesday night and a series of events in coming days to raise awareness as well as funds to help thousands of mental health patients.

Organisers said that in Pakistan, as many as one in five families are affected by mental health problems, and yet there are fewer than 400 psychiatrists in the whole country. That’s just one for every 125,000 people affected in Pakistan and almost non-existent awareness about it.

Renowned business tycoon Zameer Chaudhry told this correspondent that it’s a terrifying reality for the millions of vulnerable people in the country who are experiencing mostly treatable mental health related issues. He said that the Prince of Wales is aware about the mental health problems in Pakistan and wants to help patients. He said that the Prince of Wales has done valuable work to deal with the issues of education and health in Pakistan and has raised funds for this purpose. “We are indebted to the Royal Highness for his interest in dealing with these real life issues.”

Speaking about the huge challenge, British Asian Trust Chief Executive Richard Hawkes said: “Mental health is a desperately under-reported and under-resourced crisis in South Asia. Without the right treatment and support, those affected risk being consigned to the margins of society. Not only is this a huge cost to individuals and their families, but to the national economy and future prosperity of Pakistan.”

“At the British Asian Trust, we will develop mental health programmes within poor and deprived communities. We will raise awareness about mental health issues as it is a taboo subject in society. There is also a complete lack of clinical services for those needing support. We aim to improve access to clinical services, provide training and broaden understanding of mental health issues across Pakistan.”

In Bangladesh, he added, “In the coming months, we will be keeping refugee women and children safe from harm and helping survivors recover from trauma. The funds raised from the Ramazan campaign will go towards these.“

Every pound raised for British Asian Trust’s mental health work in Pakistan will be match funded by the CareTech Foundation and COSARAF, doubling the impact of the donations, said the organisers. “This will enable us to reach more than 100,000 people in the coming years.”