MENTAL health is an important component of our overall health and well-being. Indeed, there can be no health without mental health. The relationship between physical and mental health is multi-faceted and includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we feel, think and act. It also determines how we handle stress, how we relate to each other and the choices we make in life.

It is said that there is a thin line between sanity and insanity. According to medical experts, almost everyone at some stage in his or her life experiences some form of mental issues. There is no reason to be ashamed of acknowledging, or seeking treatment, for mental illness. Such treatment is readily available and the Ministry of Health has been putting much emphasis on the early diagnosis, treatment and counselling for persons so affected. The good thing is that mental ill-health is treatable and people with mental health problems can get better and recover completely if they seek help and adhere to the treatment protocols.

Mental health problems are not uncommon in Guyana and for that matter in the world. Approximately 13 per cent of the world’s population experience mental health issues. A study done by World Health Organisation in 2006 found that roughly 75,000 people in Guyana suffer from some form of mental disorder, out of which about 20,000 suffer from severe mental issues. These were conservative figures and the number of persons likely to be affected could be significantly higher.

This is why the current government has been putting mental health as a front burner issue in terms of the overall health care status of the Guyanese people. According to Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, the government is committed to providing quality care to persons with mental health challenges. In fact, $26M was spent earlier this year on the restoration of the Psychiatric Hospital in Region Six.

It is the main mental institution in the country and efforts are being made to ensure that patients are comfortably housed in an environment of dignity and safety. Similar sentiments were expressed by Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, who said that works are in progress to expand and upgrade the services offered at the National Psychiatric Hospital, especially in view of a recent fire at that institution.

It is an established fact that the institution was allowed to deteriorate under the previous PNC administration to a point where it became an ‘eyesore’ and a lasting shame on the then PNC regime in the way it treated with the issue of mental health. It took the return of the PPP/C administration before the building was restored to a fair measure of respectability, even though much more remains to be done to bring it back to its former glory when the mental community ground in Canje hosted national cricket and played an important role in integrating the wider community with residents of the psychiatric hospital.

Only recently, the Ministry of Health launched its social media platforms for its Mental Health Unit (MHU) using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube platforms to provide assistance and information on mental-health literacy and education. The Mental Health Unit seeks to help persons recognise their own abilities through regular webinars, coaching sessions and mental health education.

The mental health of the population is under increasing stress due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, but is much more stressful on those vulnerable groups who are without strong support networks. This is why it is so important to reach out to the several mental health clinics all across the country and the Mental Health Unit of the ministry where treatment and counselling can be administered by trained professionals.

In addition to the several measures taken by the administration to expand and strengthen the delivery of mental health care and treatment, there are also plans to take a new mental health legislation to Parliament. According to the Health Minister, the drafting of the new bill has already commenced and should soon be tabled in Parliament.