Making Mental Health a Priority - Tele MANAS

Abstract

Worldwide COVID-19 pandemic had led to a prolonged stressful condition and bring about more psychological and social effects in the community. This condition is commonly seen in each group and more commonly it has affected in children, older peoples and even the health workers who are exposed and likely to bring about the condition of stress, anxiety, uneasiness and depression. These prolonged psychosocial issues may result in mental health problems and long-term consequence on the mental functioning and coping capacities of family members.1 India has a huge burden due to mental health problems, with one in every seventh person estimated to be suffering from a clinically diagnosable mental disorder. Taking into account the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the psychological and emotional health of citizens, the Union government has announced a ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ in 2022. With the aim to setup the T-MANAS (Tele-Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States) initiative as a 24 x 7 facility in all states and Union territories. Its vision is to provide immediate mental health interventions for people in mental distress, particularly those in remote and under served areas of the country.