The Horizon Moves Further Away
Meghna Muralidharan, reporting from the World Health Organisation (WHO), describes the various stances on social acceptance of mental illness.
With mental illness being widely recognised as a disease that has to be treated, the committee addressed the issue of social acceptance of the same. The delegates debated on the obstacles that exist in the way of acceptance.
The Delegate of the Republic of Indonesia had questioned the Delegate of Belize when the latter had stated that the people suffering from mental illness must be found to be honest about their treatments. The Delegate of Indonesia felt that it was the patient’s choice on whether to reveal their treatment or not and hence suggested that it would be a violation of their human rights if the choice was taken away from them.
The Delegate of Botswana doubted the effectiveness of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) which is a method that involves psychosocial intervention. The Delegate further elucidated stating: “When there are people affected by mental illness in various spectrums. CBT would not help every patient, as everybody would need individual attention from their doctors.”
While the delegates deliberated over the importance of social acceptance, the Delegate of Republic of the Union of Myanmar felt that if the person suffering from mental illness needed help, the person should be able to reach out. The delegate added that the person does not have to be ashamed of his illness, and they should be able to avail help if they chose to.
Additionally, the Delegate of Belize rebutted saying, “Stigma is what stops them from opting for help and hence suffering alone. This further talks about why we need social acceptance of mental illness.”
The committee failed to reach a conclusion on the need for social acceptance when most of the delegates objected the need for it: at the moment, in the present scenario.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)
Clear the Mist
Reporting from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Rajnandini Singh highlights the views of the committee on the stigmatisation around mental illness around the globe.
The Delegates unanimously recognised the need to address the existing stigma around mental illnesses in many countries. The Delegate of the Republic of Cuba (Cuba) pointed out how their government had pledged to dedicate a part of their budget to the de-stigmatisation of mental illness in order to provide safer environment for the treatment. The Delegate of Commonwealth of Australia (Australia) posed a concern regarding the diagnosis of mental illnesses stating that diagnosing an unaware individual of their illness might put them in a state of suggestive illness, thus, worsening the problem. But the Delegate of Federal Republic of Germany (Germany) raised to the point that proper diagnosis of an illness was necessary to get on the right treatment at the earliest. The two Delegates agreed that the societal climate had to be changed to promote acceptance of mental illness and its eventual treatment.
The Delegate of New Zealand highlighted the flaws of current treatment methods stating that most of the treatments do not help decrease the stigma around the issue, leaving the patient feeling isolated and lonely. The Delegate of Belize agreed with the Delegate of New Zealand further added that the society needs to ‘choose empowerment over shame’ to tackle the stigma. The Delegate of the United States of America (USA) brought up the point that it is the result of the stigma that many individuals do not consult professionals regarding their mental health issues which poses a greater problem affecting the treatment of those individuals. Although, the Delegate of Kingdom of Switzerland (Switzerland) was of the belief that the funds could be utilised for de-stigmatisation by using media as a platform to create awareness about the diseases. He also suggested that media could be used to normalise the illness for common population along with provision of important information regarding the illnesses.
The Delegate of the Kingdom of Sweden (Sweden) urged the committee to take a step back and clearly define the difference between mental health and mental illness stating that the two terms often confused. He also added that the committee should aim at achieving better mental health rather than just focusing on the treatment of these illnesses. The delegates agreed that the only way to approach the issue of better mental health status across the globe starts with the first steps of battling the stigma around it and spreading necessary awareness about the issue. Although there were several different concerns voiced and solutions proposed, the committee remained indecisive regarding a plan of action.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)
More a Bane than a Boon
Meghna Muralidharan, reporting from the World Health Organisation (WHO), dissects the committee proceedings: a discussion on the problems that mental health poses in the African continent.
Mental health is not given the same emphasis as physical health, as there is stigma surrounding it. Additionally, the government does not allocate proper funding for mental health; and hence, a lot of people are not able to afford the healthcare they deserve.
The committee deliberated on the economic burden that mental health has on a country. The Delegate of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria stated that there was a lack of awareness regarding mental awareness especially in African nations; this results in a lack of psychiatrists and caretakers.
The Delegate of the Republic of Ghana was in agreement with the Delegate of Algeria and added that the main factor that contributed to the lack of awareness of mental illness was the poverty faced by the nations, as citizens suffer unable to afford a meal. The delegates of WHO discussed the issue at length, and the various aspects of it which contributed to the topic at hand. The Delegate of Republic of Angola said that the main reason that people with mental illness do not come forward was because of the stigma and the discrimination that it comes with.
Having said that, the Delegate of Angola also suggested a few methods through which the country could help its mentally affected citizens. The key factors that Angola would be concentrating were the spreading of awareness through media and the training media professionals on the issue of mental health. This, in turn, would promote dialogue on the issue.
While the Delegate of the Republic of the Congo elucidated on the fact that poverty could never truly be uprooted due to the occurrence of periodic civil unrest and conflicts. The delegate also suggested a few ways in which mental health could be bettered through the supervision of the circulation of fake medicines.
Although a lot of problems regarding mental health issues were discussed, no positive results or solutions were formulated. The council is yet to agree on a positive solution for the cause.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)
Violated Minds
Reporting from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Rajnandini Singh highlights the relations between human rights violation and mental health issues as discussed by the committee.
The committee took a new approach to addressing mental health issues and analysed its ties to human rights violations around the world. The Delegate of the Republic of France (France) pointed out that people all over the world face human rights violation in one form or the other, mainly the female population, as women constantly face oppression in many developing nations. She also proposed a provision for facilities that encourage people with mental health disorders to feel safe. The Delegate of the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany) pointed out that Germany was the largest recipient of refugees in European region. She also added that incidents of sexual assaults and gender-based violence have a great impact on an individual’s mental health and thus must be addressed with utmost care.
The Delegate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Netherlands) added workplace stress and lack of recognition to the list of events affecting mental health of an individual. He further added that proper recognition and acceptance of mental illness is the first step to helping victims of human rights violation with their mental disorders. The Delegate of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Venezuela) showed concern about the mental health status of the victims of child abuse, child labour, and sexual abuse. He also requested the committee to pay greater attention to the mental health of younger kids. The Delegate of Hellenic Republic (Greece) supported the Delegate of Venezuela in this, urging the delegates to consider the suicide statistics among the adolescent population.
The Delegate of the Republic of Chile (Chile) proposed that extensive work must be done towards increasing awareness about the mental healthcare along with the provision of special care to the victims of human rights violations including the undocumented people. The discussion brought out a deep correlation between human rights violation and mental health status of the victims proving a necessity to address the issue in depth.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)
Decisions in Split Seconds
Reporting from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Meghna Muralidharan writes about the opinons of the delgates on whether a mental health exam should be made mandatory for persons of authority.
The President and the Prime Minister of a country are widely influential people who have to serve the country. They are burdened with the decisions that make the future of the country; these decisions are to be taken in split seconds. Hence, they should be mentally competant.
There is currently no such mandate for the President to take up a mental health exam or to observe a sitting president's decision-making. The sole test of a candidate's physical and mental fitness to serve in the government is the rigor of the campaign trail and elector process. But many countries do not require the President or Prime Minister to take up the exam.
Many delegates of various countries present in the comittee were asked to vote yes or no on whether such a mental health exam should be made mandatory for the President or the Prime Minister. While a majority of them remained neuutral on the topic, 30% of the them voted yes on having an annual mental health exam for the President or the Prime Minister.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)
Gunslinger
Reporting from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Rajnandini Singh gauges the Delegates’ stances on gun control and mental health disorders.
The past couple of years have seen several mass shootings across the world, but mainly concentrated in the United States of America (USA) where gun control laws are fairly lenient. The post mortem of many of these cases reveal the presence of one or the other form of mental illness plaguing the perpetrator. Considering this, the committee was posed with the question– would better mental health screening of potential assault weapon owners prevent incidences of these mass shootings?
While the overall response of the committee was in support of better mental screening tests, there were some countries that held on to their scepticisms. The Delegates of the Republic of Mozambique, the Kingdom of Thailand and the State of Israel all voted with a resounding ‘No’ along with 10 others, reflecting on the effectiveness of the proposition. Whereas the Delegates of The United States of America (USA), Canada, and People’s Republic of China voted ‘Maybe’ along with 9 others, showing their reservations about such a scheme.
The majority of the committee was of the opinion that the proposition could prove to be helpful in preventing incidences of violence. The Delegates of the Republic of France, Hellenic Republic (Greece), and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan supported better mental health screenings to be involved in the process along with 29 other Delegates. But the question of how freely can assault weapons be available in common hands still remains unanswered.
(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian.)