Over 92% of mental health patients in Bangladesh receive no treatment: Health Minister

More than 92 percent of people living with mental health conditions in Bangladesh do not receive any form of treatment, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain told Parliament on Monday.

“Mental disorders are rapidly emerging as one of the leading causes of disability worldwide,” the minister said while replying to a question from ruling party lawmaker Md Abul Kalam (Cumilla-9) during the question-answer session.

Citing the National Mental Health Survey 2018–19, he said around 16.8 per cent of adults and 12.6 percent of children and adolescents in Bangladesh suffer from some form of mental health condition.

“However, more than 92 percent of them do not receive any kind of treatment,” he said.

The minister said Bangladesh's mental healthcare services remained inadequate for its population.

“Bangladesh currently has only 1.17 mental health professionals per 100,000 people, while the number of registered psychiatrists in the public sector stands at around 350,” he said.

Replying to another question from reserved-seat MP Sabikun Nahar, Sakhawat said there are 41,806 approved physician posts in government hospitals across the country, of which 9,407 remain vacant.

He said the approved number of nursing posts is 49,879, while 45,302 positions are currently vacant. The approved number of health worker posts is 65,230, with 18,947 vacancies.

Providing a breakdown of frontline health workers, the minister said 15,207 Family Welfare Assistants (FWAs) are currently serving against 23,500 approved posts, leaving 8,293 vacancies.

Among Family Welfare Visitors (FWVs), 3,200 are in service against 6,361 approved posts, with 1,161 vacancies, while 13,902 Community Health Care Providers (CHCPs) are working against 14,460 approved posts, leaving 540 vacancies.

He added that 13,956 Health Assistants are currently employed against 20,909 approved posts, leaving 6,953 positions vacant.

The minister said the government plans to recruit 100,000 health workers at the earliest.

Replying to a separate question from MP Mizanur Rahman (Chapainawabganj-2), Sakhawat said the government is giving the highest priority to protecting the mental health of young people, particularly in addressing stress, depression and suicide.

Quoting data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the World Health Organization (WHO), he said an estimated 1,000 to 1,400 people die by suicide every year in Bangladesh, with a significant proportion being young people and adolescents.