Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the sprawling megacity of mental health issues among the vulnerable population groups, the Finance Minister of India on Tuesday announced the roll-out of the national tele-mental health program.

Pandemic has brought to the fore the issue of mental health. A National tele- mental health program for counselling will be launched. This will include a network of 23 tele- mental health centers of excellence with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro- sciences (NIMHANS) being the nodal center and IIIT Bangalore providing technological support”: FM.

This step has been taken in the wake of growing scientific evidence that portrays rising mental health cases as a post COVID-19 aftermath. Patients experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression have been reported quite frequently during the pandemic.

While advocating the new step for the mental well-being of the nation, the finance minister – Nirmala Sitharaman, mentioned that, “the pandemic has accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages.”

Provisions

  • A nationwide toll-free helpline was launched by the center for psychosocial support for disaster management at NIMHAS, to curb psycho-socio concerns of the public during the pandemic and subsequent lockdown.
  • Presently, the central government is operating SAMVEDNA a tele-counselling service, which provide psychological aid to children experiencing stress, anxiety or any other issues, during the pandemic. Apart from this, the government is also creating Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), with the intention of making medical assistance accessible to masses.

“I recognize that we are in the midst of an Omicron wave with high incidence but with milder symptoms. Furthermore, the speed and coverage of our vaccination campaign has helped greatly. With the accelerated improvement of the health infrastructure in the past two years, we are in a strong position to with stand challenges. I am confident that with ‘Sabka Prayas’, we will continue our journey with strong growth,” said the finance minister while presenting the fourth Union Budget.

Indeed, on that note, the finance minister has kept the hopes high for FY22.

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