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The Health Ministry together with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Sri Lanka have organised a series of events and workshops to make the public aware of the importance of sound mental health to create a better society. The theme for this year’s World Health Day is mental health and the slogan of the year-long campaign is “Stop Exclusion – Dare to Care”. At a press conference held yesterday the Minister of Health, John Seneviratne, said, “Eight to ten percent of Sri Lanka’s population suffer from some sort of mental disorder.” The Minister also told the media that there is a shortage of psychiatrists and there are only three hospitals to treat mental problems, which is not sufficient to provide better health facilities to the public. The Sri Lankan health authorities are spearheading the launch of a five-year National Plan under which the Mental Health Act will be revised to cater to the needs of the day, said Dr. A.M.L Beligaswatta, Director General of Health Services. Meanwhile, the government plans to get the services of Sri Lankan psychiatrists who are employed overseas as an initial step to resolve the shortage of doctors in mental hospitals. The World Health Organization representative in Sri Lanka, Dr. Kan Tun, said, “The stigma attached to people afflicted by mental disorders is not helpful and discriminating them is unfair, if not unethical.” He also emphasised the fact that a lot of possibility lies in treatment. “Little has been done to improve the mental health in Sri Lanka and mental health problems are a global burden” said the Indian psychiatrist Narendra Wig who is in Sri Lanka to address the SAARC Regional Conference on Mental Health in Colombo. He also said that although drugs are available most of the population is deprived of it. The Ministry of Health plans to hold ‘Health Week’ island wide from 21st to 27th of May.
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