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Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan speaks at the conference. |
Overwhelming majority of people have suffered from anxiety and depressive disorders and the rest are other mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, mental disorders related to usage of alcohol, drug and stimulants.
On the World Mental Health Day (October 10), a conference on mental health system strengthening was kicked off this morning with participation of Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan.
Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan said that every year, the number of deaths from non-communicable diseases account for 74 percent of total deaths worldwide.
Especially, regarding non-communicable diseases, mental disorders are mostly common, tend to increase and the cause of other health problems.
According to the World Health Organization, one in every eight people were living with a mental disorder, comprising anxiety and depressive disorders being the most common.
Especially, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a global mental health crisis, exacerbating acute and chronic stress and destroying the mental health of millions of people.
In Vietnam alone, around 15 million Vietnamese people live with ten types of mental health disorders, accounting for 14.9 percent of the population.
More than 3 millions of children in the country are in needs of mental health services.
However, mental health works have faced many difficulties and challenges. Currently, almost all the districts have not provided inpatient mental health examination and treatment services.
Most hospital with specialized obstetrical, pediatrics, obstetrics and geriatrics services do not have psychiatric department.
Vietnam has faced a lack of human resources serving mental health care with 605 psychiatrists, reaching 0.62 doctors per 100,000 people, lower than the global average with 1.7 doctors.
