The speakers at a roundtable conference on Wednesday noted with grave concern that the depression and other kinds of mental illness are on the rise across the country owing to various factors including economic crises, being the main factor.
Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research (PILER), in Collaboration with Sindh Mental Health Authority had organized the Roundtable Talk regarding “Economic Crises and the Mental Health issues” at SMHA office Karachi.
“The level of prevalence of depression among the masses, which had risen to 40 percent during the years of Covid-19, would further increase due the economic crises,” Dr. Karim Khawaja viewed adding that there are various hypotheses that suggest that the increasing mental illnesses might give way to anarchy.
“The people might resort to anarchy in different ways,” he said referring to rise in economic crises that followed the outbreak of plague in Europe resulting in violence against women, incidents of witch-hunting and setting ablaze the people etc.
Dr. Karim Khawaja said that prevalence of mental illnesses shoot up when the society is overwhelmed by fascism, repression, and economic crises. “In such a situation, a particular section of society falls victim to it, like the Jews who became the target of Holocaust in Germany during the WWI,” he said. There is need to build rehabilitation centers for the patients suffering with mental health issues he added.
Karamat Ali, Executive Director PILER Stated “Similar situation prevailed during the military rule of General Zia in Pakistan when the incidents of violence against women and children at home had increased manifold,” he said. He further stated that the composition of the parliament should be representative. The best example of a representative parliament is of Nepal he added.
All the participants of roundtable were unanimous in stressing the government to take concrete measures for steering the country and the masses out of economic crises.
The roundtable was attended by the veteran psychiatrist and the civil society members including
Dr. Maqbool Memon, DHO Malir, Dr. Ali Wasif, President, PAMH, Dr. Chooni Lal, In-charge Department of Psychiatry JPMC, Dr. Suresh Kumar, Ex-Secretary Health, Prof. Dr. Farha Iqbal, University of Karachi, Prof. Dr. Qudsia Tariq, University of Karachi, Adv. Riaz Hussain Baloch, SZABLC Malir, Dr. Syed Zafar Mehdi, Secretary SMHA, Ms. Zahra Javed Naqvi, Head of Psychiatry Department, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma, Ms. Uzma Noorani, HRCP/WAF, Faris Ali Mughal, ICP, Dr. Ajmal Mughal, Consultant Psychiatry, Mahnaz Rahman of Aurat Foundation , Mohammad Tahseen of South Asia Partnership and Saeed Baloch of Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum.
