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(GMH) was hosted as a part of world federation for

mental health biennial congress. It was the first global

initiative in this regard to focus attention on the

growing problem of metal disorders and mentaldepressions. This summit was supported by global

organisations like Lancet, The welcome trust and

World’s initiative on psychiatry etc. The theme of this

conglomeration was ‘working together for Mental

Health’. The theme itself signifies the importance of 

this congress which is the first global concerted and

serious effort in this regard. The participantsdeliberated upon among other things issues like

scaling up mental health in low income countries,

human rights and metal disorders (how human

right violations take place of the mentally 

disordered patients, chaining, whipping etc are

frequently reported in media in India and other 

countries also.) and strategies for future.

With the changing pace of time in terms of economic,

social, political and ethical metamorphosis, the stress

on mind, cutting across the social stratum, is now a

global phenomenon. Its impact is devastating both in

terms of mental agony and social disorder. The

impact may not be as perceptible and discernible as

any other pandemics like H1N1 etc, but its long term

impact on social and psychological tapestry is more

deleterious than any other disease. It is perhaps due

to this fact, the mental health disorder or mental

depressions are termed as silent and mute

pandemic.

According to one rough estimate, because thereis no census on this issue in India, there are roughly

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40 million people suffer from mental depressions.

Number of mental illness, which is an advance stage

of mental disorder, is about 30 to 35 lakhs in India.

According to National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH), by 2010 this disease will be largest and shall

overtake cardiovascular disease in this country. The

global figure of metal depression persons is around

120 million, and this number is increasing by leaps

and bounds. Many psychiatrics are of the opinion that

the ongoing Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has only

added to the agony. The uncertain future, job cuts,rising inflation and soaring unemployment have

inflamed the situation. There is however no such

survey or specific scientific study conducted on this

issue, the recession has inflated depression and there

is no doubt about it.

Under the prevailing circumstances, this summit

is being attached immense significance both in India

and abroad. In India the availability of psychiatrics

and psychiatric nurse is dismal. There is only 0.05

Psychiatric per one lakh patients in India whereas the

trained nurses for this job are 0.16 per one lakh only.

Hopefully this World Summit would spread

awareness and will make people acquainted with thehorrifying scenario of this silent but deadly pandemic.

Although we have enacted legislation in 1987 itself,

which is known as Mental Health Act, 1987, this law

requires amendment because either most of the

provisions have become obsolete or they are not in

commensurate with the changing pace of problem. A

comprehensive bill with respect to this disease ordisorder, whatever one calls it, is lying pending; it

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