Topic– Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources; Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
3) The rising mental ill health is causing mounting disabilities, early deaths and fuelling cycles of poverty. Critically examine. (250 words)
Why this question
Mental health is one of the most neglected areas of medical-care and mental health problems are increasing day by day. It is important to examine how it affects the person and his livelihood in terms of disability imposed, death caused and poverty inflicted.
Directive word
Critically examine- here we have to probe deeper into the topic, get into details, and find out the causes or implications if any.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to probe deeper into the topic and bring out how poor mental health causes disabilities, death and propagates the cycle of poverty. Then we have to form a personal opinion on the issue.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the mental ill health and growing prevalence of mental diseases across the world.
Body-
Discuss about the mental ill-health in detail and examine how it inflicts disability and death and how it fuels the cycle of poverty. E.g
Most people with mental health problems do not receive care, which prolongs suffering and leads to colossal societal and economic losses. Even worse, they are often subjected to human rights abuses and discrimination. Perhaps no other cause of suffering has been so profoundly neglected; suicide is now the leading cause of death of young people, alcohol use is blatantly promoted by commercial interests and its abuse has been relegated to a moral issue to be addressed by primitive, punitive policies rather than through a public health approach, tens of thousands of people with severe mental health problems languish in horrific conditions in mental hospitals or on the streets and appalling deprivations — from undernutrition to neglect — that affect the development of the brain in childhood remain unchecked. There are virtually no community-based mental health services in the country etc.
Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue. e.g mental health services must be scaled up as an essential component of universal health coverage; barriers and threats to mental health, such as the pervasive impact of stigma, must be assertively addressed; mental health must be protected by public policies and developmental efforts; new opportunities must be enthusiastically embraced, in particular those offered by the innovative use of community health workers and digital technologies to deliver a range of mental health intervention; substantial additional investments must be urgently made as the economic and health case for increased investments in mental health is strong. There is also an immediate opportunity for more efficient use of existing resources, for example, through the redistribution of budgets from large hospitals to district hospitals and community-based local services. Finally, investments in research and innovation must harness diverse disciplines to advance understanding of the causes of mental disorders and develop more effective interventions to prevent and treat them etc.
