MVR 11 million spent by Aasandha on mental healthcare in 2017

Records released by Health Ministry shows the state health insurance company, Aasandha, spent over MVR 11 million on mental healthcare in 2017.

The records were released by Health Ministry on occasion of World Mental Health Day this Thursday.

Additional records show 207 patients were hospitalized and treated for mental disorders at state-run Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in 2017.

The 207 patients include 200 local citizens and seven foreign citizens; 105 of whom were women and 95 of whom were men.

The records also show several of the patients were repeatedly hospitalized.

Aasandha spent over MVR 11 million on mental healthcare in 2017.

The majority of the patients who received insurance for mental healthcare in 2017 – making for 41.5 percent of the total – belonged to the 30-49-year age group. It was followed by the 50-69-year age group which made up for 27.2 percent of the total, the 15-29-year age group which made up for 20.1 percent of the total, the above 69-year category which made up for 6.5 percent of the total, and the under 15-year age group which made up for 4.7 percent of the total.

According to Aasandha, 83.2 percent of the MVR 11 million on mental healthcare went into purchase of medicine.

Meanwhile, police records show 16 suicide cases were reported to the agency in 2017. The suicide cases involved both locals and foreigners.

15 of the 16 suicides involved men, and 50 percent of the total suicides involved people who belonged to the 15-29-year age group.

IGMH established its Center for Mental Health on March 25, 2019, and has provided its services to 4,000 patients to date.

Health Minister Abdulla Ameen has announced plans to expand state mental healthcare services in the atolls.