Dhaka: The World Mental Health Day was observed in Bangladesh as elsewhere of the globe on Monday with a call to ensuring healthcare for all psychiatric patients.

This year’s theme for the day is ‘Dignity in Mental Health-Psychological and Mental Health First Aid for All.’

Different social and psychiatric and psychologists professional bodies have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the day.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Bangladesh Association of Psychiatrists (BAP) jointly took out various programmes marking the day.  

Earlier in the day, a procession was brought out from the NIMH and ended reaching Gonobhaban. NIMH director Prof Md Abdul Hamid and senior psychiatrists, physicians and students took part in the procession.

NIMH and BAP distributed posters and leaflets and arranged discussion to make people aware of psychiatric disorders.  

According to a new study of the NIMH, psychiatric patients among adult people are on the rise in the country.

The preliminary findings of the survey show that about 31 percent of adults- just under 1 in 3 - suffer from some form of mental illness, which is almost double the previous survey’s result conducted in 2005.  

In the national survey on mental health 2005, about 18 percent of the country’s total population suffered from mental illness. Of them, about 8.4 percent faced anxiety disorder while 4.6 percent depressive disorder, 1.1 percent psychosis and 0.6 percent drug addiction. And the prevalence of mental disorders was higher in women than men.