Grave situation: One psychiatrist for 10,000 patients in Pakistan, says LUMHS VC

SUKKUR: The experts told in a seminar total 970 million people all over the world, have been suffering from small or substantial mental disorder, including 264 million of depression, 284 million of anxiety, 46 million of bipolar disorder, 20 million of schizophrenia and 178 of alcoholic and drug stresses.

Addressing the seminar, Vice-Chancellor Liaquat University for Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Jamshoro Prof Dr Ikramuddin Ujjan said whereas in Pakistan 10 to 16 percent of the total population that aggregated more than 14 million people have been suffering from mild to moderate psychiatric illness, majority of them are women. While the province wise prevalence is as, Baluchistan with 40 percent, Sindh with 16 percent, Punjab with 8 percent, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with 5 percent, while, only one psychiatrist or mental health professional for every 10,000 patients in Pakistan, and only one child psychiatrist for four million children.

Prof Dr Ikram Ujjan has strongly emphasised on to treat the patients and prevent the societies from increasing ratio of mental disorder in Pakistan, suggesting that there is only way for human development, to first resolve psychological issues of the individuals, groups and the societies. He also suggested that to prevent psychological disorder among the students, proper guidance and career counseling should be made mandatory. He stated that the current statics of 2021-22 about mental health disorder globally conducted by international agencies said that 1 in 5 adults live with mental illness, 1 in 25 adults live in serious mental illness globally. He said 50 percent of chronic mental illness started before 14 years of age and 75 percent of chronic mental illness started by age of 24.

Vice-chancellor LUMHS Jamshoro further said more than 10 million people, over the age of 18, have more than one addiction or mental health disorder. He described the global figures with current statics, saying that 264 million with depression, 284 million with anxiety disorder.