➡ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙢𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨. 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩'𝙨 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨, 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙝𝙖 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙄𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙤 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡-𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨. 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡-𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.
It saddens me to see that so many people, including those I hold close, are dealing with mental health issues day after day. Mental health facilities have been difficult to access for everyone, causing a major issue for individuals in need of assistance. In Maldives, seeking help for physical health issues is relatively easy. You can simply walk into a hospital and see an OPD doctor or consult with a specialist. However, when it comes to mental health, the process isn't as straightforward.
This is the end result of neglecting mental health in Maldives for a long period of time. Initially, the stigma associated with mental illness was a major hindrance for people getting the aid they require. In recent years, people have been more aware of the reality of mental illness and stress the importance of seeking professional treatment.
Now we face an even harsher reality. With a lack of access to mental health services, even those who are seeking help are finding themselves in a more difficult position than they were before. The consequences of ignoring this issue are far-reaching and have already had a negative impact on the lives of individuals, families, and communities. This has resulted in us building a society that is fraught with depression and sadness.
‣ Difficulties in Getting Immediate Care
In the case of mental health, people need immediate care and treatment and if it is delayed, their condition can worsen, potentially leading to harm to themselves or others. Despite there being a shortage of medical facilities, the demand for them is very high. It takes up to six months to get an appointment at IGMH. Usually the clinics will call back for an appointment within a month but that could change depending on the demand as well.
However, not everyone can afford the prices of the clinics. Private medical clinics tend to charge a price between MVR 350-500 for therapy sessions, so it's not always affordable for some individuals. Therefore, they often rely on public hospitals instead. But the long waiting times can be a deterrent. As many individuals cannot afford expensive therapy sessions, they choose not to get the necessary assistance. Fortunately, the government has recently introduced the Aasandha scheme to make mental health services more affordable.
Access to mental health care is a major issue, particularly in the outer islands of the Maldives. Most of the resources are centered around Malé, leaving those in remote areas without sufficient options to get help. This has been a persistent challenge for some time. These days, many mental health facilities now offer therapeutic sessions by video call, which is a great convenience. However, for more serious and prolonged treatment, people would have to travel to Male' or abroad.
‣ Lack of Institutional Facilities
The government hospital IGMH provides psychiatric clinic services with a limited number of inpatient beds, making it impossible to keep a mentally ill patient admitted there for a long time. Usually, when the patient shows some signs of improvement, they are discharged from the hospital. But for mental illnesses, long-term and consistent care is essential for effective management. Even though the state runs an institutional facility for people with mental disorders in K. Guraidhoo, it is not equipped with the necessary resources. Many critical patients are often taken abroad for proper rehabilitation, however this is an additional expense that isn't affordable for everyone.
Sadly, the mental health treatment options in Maldives are inadequate and unreliable. Psychiatric medications are not widely available in the country.
‣ Not Enough Licensed Professionals
Additionally, there is an inadequate number of mental health specialists in our country to adequately serve the needs of the population. The current demand for mental health services is exceeding the supply of qualified professionals in the field. This could be part of the reason why some mental health facilities are relying on unqualified staff without a background or appropriate understanding to carry out assessments and therapy sessions.
However, this should not be an excuse, and these facilities should be held accountable. Our country needs more licensed mental health professionals such as counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists.
‣ In the End…
The mental health system in the Maldives is quite weak and lacks organization and coordination, limiting its effectiveness. It is high time that we address these prevailing issues to make mental health services more accessible for all. What is the point of all this development if the people are suffering in the end without getting proper care?
For the sake of our future, we cannot turn a blind eye to the current mental health crisis. The government should step in and invest in training more mental health workers, as well as create infrastructure that provides mental health services to rural areas. Establishing a sufficiently resourced institution to provide these services is also necessary.
With this action, we can foster better mental health for everyone and build an accepting and welcoming environment. This would help improve the quality of life of all individuals within the society.