PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said Malaysia’s mental health policy should be reviewed.
This is based on the growing trend of mental health issues, she said, citing previous studies including one which indicated that 40 per cent of Malaysians would suffer from mental health issues in their lifetime.
A recent 2017 survey by the Health Ministry, found that 18,336 people were currently suffering from various stages of depression based on health screenings done on 273,203 individuals, Dr Wan Azizah said.
“Of these, 11, 811 people were found to be suffering from mild depression, 3,680 from moderate depression and 1,682 from severe depression,” she said.
Dr Wan Azizah said this at the launch of the World Mental Health Day 2018 celebration themed “Young People and Mental health in a Changing World”, here today.
Also present were Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Mental Health Foundation chairman Tan Sri Hashim Meon.
The Institute of Public Health in its National Health and Morbidity Survey 2017 on mental health among youths, revealed that one out of five adolescents feels depressed; two out of five feel anxious; 11.2 per cent have suicidal ideation and 10.1 per cent had attempted suicide.
There are 5.5 million adolescents in Malaysia as of 2018.
Dr Wan Azizah also shared another grim outlook by quoting the World Health Organisation (WHO) report, which stated that there were more than 800,000 suicide cases reported globally every year.
The deputy prime minister said such studies should be a clear indicator and a warning sign regarding youths’ mental health status, so much so youths were regarded as the future for any nation.
She also said prevalence of mental disorders and the burden of disease associated with mental health problems was far greater for those in youth, which was why Dr Wan Azizah called on the young Malaysians to build their resilience and inner strength.
On a proposal to set up an institute of mental health, the deputy prime minister said it could be something that the government should look into.
“I had been told that the institute aims to boost the understanding and treatment for mental disorder through researches.”