“The centerpiece of the public mental health system is the National Institute of Mental Health located in Dhaka, which serves as the psychiatric specialty hospital, administrative center, outpatient mental health treatment facility, and research center for mental health in Bangladesh. While most of Bangladesh’s 162.7 million citizens are living in rural areas, specialty mental health services are highly concentrated geographically in the capital and a few urban centers. Government funds devoted to mental health and to mental health care beyond hospital beds are minimal. The key challenges that Bangladesh currently faces are how to apply their momentum, expertise, and experience towards taking first steps to develop a broader base of financial and human resources. The goal will be to will make measurable improvements in access to trained care providers and community-based supports for persons living beyond urban centers who are suffering with mental illnesses.”
“Bangladesh’s largest specialty hospital, the National Institute of Mental Health and Treatment, is located in Dhaka and has 500 beds. The density of psychiatric beds is five times higher in Dhaka than in the rest of the country.”
“Most qualified mental health specialists are located in cities, and the cost of bringing patients to their attention is prohibitively high”
“Bangladesh has an estimated 260 psychiatrists, or approximately 0.16 per 100,000 population, as well as 700 nurses who provide mental health specialty care (0.4 per 100,000) and 565 psychologists (0.34 per 100,000). Almost all specialists are concentrated in major urban areas. General nurses trained in mental health are found only at the country’s two mental hospitals, while there are no specialized mental health nurses.”
“Mental health services are provided by psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses and clinical psychologists, with little to no multidisciplinary teamwork between them. It is difficult for rural populations to access psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Mental health services are often limited to a divisional tertiary level, where psychiatrists work at public medical college hospitals located within cities.”
“Leaders have clearly articulated their priority goal of ensuring there are competent providers who can offer effective mental health treatments to adults and children in rural areas of Bangladesh. That will require strengthening their ability to support and monitor uptake and utilization of skills in general medical care settings, at the subdistrict level. For the WHO Mental Health Initiative, the first question will be to decide what $1,000,000 investment will optimize current assets and provide the best foundation for addressing these priorities.”