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Priorities
for Mental Health Sector Development in Gujarat, 2002-2003
Funding
support: The Royal Netherlands Embassy, New
Delhi
The
Government of Gujarat is currently in the process of developing
a policy to improve the mental health situation in the
State of Gujarat. As an initial step, the Department of
Health and Family Welfare (DoHFW), Government of Gujarat
constituted a Mission and asked the Indian Institute of
Management (IIMA), to analyse the sector and come up with
priority strategies.
While
drawing from the WHO report, the Mission went further than
the WHO approach. It not only focused on the local context
of Gujarat, but also on strategies to be considered for
developing State level priorities. It provides a detailed
analysis of intra- and inter-sectoral linkages and institutional
processes.
 The
Mission
Bapu
Trust was a core member of the Mission team led by IIMA,
along with BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad. Together, the
Mission constituted a team of experts who prepared the
background papers for the Mission Report.
The
Mission Team
-
Prof.
Ramesh Bhat, IIMA (Mission Coordinator)
-
Dr.
Bhargavi Davar, Bapu Trust
-
Dr.
GK Vankar, BJ Medical College
-
Prof.
Sunil Maheshwari, IIM Ahmedabad
-
Prof.
Amita Dhanda, University of Law, NALSAR, Hyderabad
-
Dr.
Vikram Patel, Senior Lecturer, London School of Hygiene
& Tropical Medicine, Chairperson, Sangath Society,
Goa
-
Prof.
Piyush Sinha, IIMA Ahmedabad
-
Prof.
Rajesh Agrawal, IIM Ahmedabad
-
Dr.
Ritambhara Mehta, Surat Medical College, Surat
-
Dr.
Sohan Derasari, Practising Psychiatrist
Mission
Methodology
The
Mental Health Mission’s work was formulated based on
the Terms of Reference, which was extensively discussed
among the stakeholders in the sector before it was approved
by the DoHFW. The scope of the Mission work was determined
by this process. Three broad areas of Mission input was
felt to be necessary:
Core
Group 1: Institutional Development- institutional
set up, organizational structure and management, sources
and uses of funds, inter agency co-ordination, human
resources development, opinion of mental health in
society, including stigma
Core
Group 2: Government services- state, district,
sub-district, private-sector services, NGO and civil
society services; modalities of service delivery (who,
what and how), quality of services, community access,
and integration with traditional practices.
Core
Group 3: Social and Legal Issues (gender,
legislation, ethical issues, regulation of service
providers, and research and documentation)
Outputs
Bapu
Trust prepared four background papers for the Mental
Health Mission on “Social and Legal Issues”:
1.
“The Burden and socioeconomic determinants of mental disorders:
Implications for the Gujarat Mental Health Policy”.
By:
>>Dr Vikram Patel, Senior Lecturer, London School
of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Chairperson, The Sangath
Society, Goa; Chairperson, Goa Psychiatric Society.
>>Dr Abhijit Nadkarni, Resident, Institute of Psychiatry
& Human Behaviour, Goa
>>Dr Gaurish Gaunekar, Resident, Institute of Psychiatry
& Human Behaviour, Goa
2.
“Interphase of Law in Mental Health: The Gujarat Context”
By:
>> Dr Amita Dhanda, Professor
of Law, University of Law, NALSAR, Hyderabad
3.
“The Role of ethics in MH sector strengthening”
>>
By: Dr Bhargavi V Davar, Director, Center for Advocacy
in Mental Health, Pune.
4.
“Gender and mental health”
>>
By: Dr Bhargavi Davar, Madhura Lohokare and Gita Kale
The
Mission organized four workshops and several meetings
to discuss the progress of the various studies. Detailed
activity plans and time schedules were prepared. The
Mission implemented the work from May to December 2002.
The report was readied by 2003 after editing and bringing
together the many prepared papers by the expert team.
Ramesh Bhat, Bhargavi Davar and Sunil Maheshwari prepared
the draft chapters of the Report, based on the background
papers.
The
full report of the Mission is available from the Department
of Health, Government of Gujarat.
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