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New Delhi : The President of India Ram Nath Kovind while addressing the 22nd convocation of National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, on December 30, 2017, said that NIMHANS is a national asset. It has integrated education and research in medical sciences with clinical services and treatment. Each year it treats about 7,00,000 patients including many from abroad. Two of every three patients belong to the poorer sections. They obtain free or highly subsidised care.
The President said that the biggest obstacle that patients of mental and neurological problems face is stigma and denial. This leads to the issue being ignored or simply not discussed. In some cases it leads to self-diagnosis that could worsen the situation. Our society has to fight this culture of stigma. ” We need to talk about mental health issues and treat ailments such as depression and stress as diseases that can be cured – not as guilty secrets to be pushed under the carpet,” he said, according to a PIB release.
The President said that in 2022, India will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of Independence. ” We need to ensure that by then at least those who are suffering from severe mental disorders have been diagnosed and have access to treatment facilities,” he said. He called for taking this up as a national mission. He stated that the government and the non-government sector – and all related public and private institutions – will need to contribute to this effort. It is for NIMHANS, as India’s premier mental health institute, to draw a road -map and to be the navigator. He added that other than conventional treatment, the role of counselling services and of practices such as yoga and vipassana meditation in helping those with mental health problems should also be explored.
In Bengaluru, the President also inaugurated Seva Utsav 2018 organised by the Adamya Chetana Foundation, and the 100th anniversary of the National Education Society of Karnataka as well as of the National High School that the Society runs.
The President praised the Adamya Chetana Foundation for performing a very noble task in providing fresh and nutritious food to school children through its Annapurna project. He stated that the Foundation’s initiative is in keeping with its philosophy of Seva – and its focus is on Anna-Akshara-Arogya or food, education and health.
Later in the day, the President travelled to Bidadi (Ramanagara district) where he visited the new campus of the Amruta Institute of Engineering and Management Sciences and also inaugurated the 111th year celebrations of Basaveshwar Veerashaiva Vidyavardhaka (BVV) Sangha. The President congratulated the BVV Sangha today runs over 150 educational institutions in Karnataka and Maharashtra. Over 50,000 students study in these institutions and half of them are women.