The Meghalaya cabinet has approved a policy aimed at addressing issues of mental health and social care through collaborative engagement with communities, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said.
With this, Meghalaya has become the first state in the Northeast and the third state in India to have such a policy. Kerala and Karnataka are the other two states in the country to have such policies.
The vision of the Meghalaya Mental Health and Social Care Policy is to promote overall mental health and well-being and facilitate appropriate access and care pathways. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma informed that this policy will ensure proper attention to mental health, especially for children, adolescents, and youths. He added that the Government strongly feels that Mental Health issues are often neglected and hence a comprehensive policy was required to address the issue.
This policy also aims to promote overall mental health and wellbeing and facilitate appropriate access and care pathways for common and severe mental health concerns, with focus on person-centred care.
In 2014, the Centre launched the first-ever National Mental Health Policy in an attempt to provide universal psychiatry care. On World Mental Health Day, the Meghalaya government had announced that the state would soon have a mental health policy.
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