Ram Lal Shrestha, director of a local non-governemntal organization -- Centre for Mental Health and Counselling-Nepal -- said recently that the Himalayan country did not yet have a health system suitable for handling the psychiatric disorders.[break]
More than 15 years have passed since 1996 when the government issued the first policy on mental health, but so far very little of it has been implemented. There are over 4,000 health centers and 75 government-run hospital districts across Nepal, but there is no specific unit for this issue other than Patan Hospital in Kathmandu, which offers only outpatient care.
Compared to four years ago the situation has not changed and the main problem, say government experts, remains the lack of funds.
Fewer than 1 percent of the health budget was made available in 2010 for this type of pathology. Most of the money was used for health workers´ salaries, administrative costs and hospital logistics but not for the care and treatment of patients.
Only a small number of persons receive free medical benefits. In less than 10 months, in 2010, Nepal Police registered a total of 7,300 suicides across the country. More than half were women.
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