Tag: Mentioning

Study Paper Mentioning Mental Health in J&K Makes It to Prestigious Lancet Journal; Upscaling of Tele-psychiatry Suggested

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Mental health issues remain unaddressed because of stigma, lack of general awareness and dearth of trained health professionals, says Secretary H&ME Dr. Bhupinder Kumar
Asif Iqbal
Srinagar, May 1 (GNS): The Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir, witnessing a complicated political situation over the decades coupled with natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods including impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has been facing a colossal mental burden, as per a recent paper making it to the prestigious global journal Lancet.
The paper titled ‘Reducing the mental health treatment gap in Kashmir: scaling up to maximise the potential of telepsychiatry’, assessed by GNS, says that the area has a huge mental health burden and that authorities have tried to address this by increasing the number of trained mental health professionals, despite these efforts the gap remains largely unaddressed.
To tackle mental health morbidity, the study has suggested up-scaling of telepsychiatry in the region.
“It is especially relevant in regions such as Jammu and Kashmir that have faced political conflict and natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and including impacts from the ongoing Covid19 pandemic,” the study reveals.
The study paper says that the policymakers have also initiated the Tele MANAS centre in Kashmir, where mental health needs are being prioritised by introducing more professionals who can provide services in local Kashmiri and Urdu languages.
“Since its launch on 4th November, 2022, the centre has received 4000 calls as people with mental illness from every district of the Union Territory are seeking professional help.”

“These numbers convey the enormous demand and needs but also show that TELE Manas is acceptable to people and they are initiating contact with mental health providers. The current step is expected to ensure cost-and-time-effective and comprehensive services for the poorly served population of the region, strengthening mental health, an area that has been historically neglected in Jammu and Kashmir”, remarks the study authored by Dr Arshad Hussain, Secretary Health and Medical Education Bhupinder Kumar alongside two other veteran psychiatrists Manasi Kumar, and Fazle Roub.
When contacted, Secretary Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Dr. Bhupinder Kumar, who is part of the study paper, remarked that there have been many underlying gaps vis-à-vis the need to access mental health in Kashmir. “This paper mainly talks about the measures aimed at bridging of these gaps, for we have dearth of trained mental health care workers, be it counselors, be it clinical psychologists or the psychiatrists who might otherwise help us in this pursuit”, Kumar was however quick to add that it may be due to regional variations as well. “If we talk about Jammu and Kashmir only, we’ll get to see variation between Kashmir and Jammu, likewise in Kashmir the variation between Srinagar and any other district.”
“The mental health issues remain unaddressed also because of stigma and lack of general awareness which results that many people face issues of mental awareness which depletes the quality, productivity and efficiency of life of people sufferings from these, not to talk how it affects their overall economic and financial situation”, Kumar said adding “To bridge this gap, a Tele-service by the name of Tele-Manas was launched by GoI in November 2022 in Kashmir, which runs on a toll-free number round the clock throughout the year. Our counselors receive calls on the number with due diligence to maintain the confidentiality of the callers’ and in turn counsel anyone in need and we have been receiving calls from people who are facing different situations particular to them.”
“Since the time we have started this helpline, we have received more than ten thousand calls and off-late we have witnessed a trend that we are receiving repeat-callers (callers calling more than once) even as the duration of average call is also increasing. Though still in its infancy stage, it nevertheless has fetched us quite good results till we recruit and appoint more psychiatrists in our medical colleges. We have proposed a similar and separate call centre exclusive for Jammu to overcome linguistic barriers, if any, coming in way for an effective redressal of the issue.”
“Off-late we have been receiving a good number of calls from females as well and it would be apt to say there are more female callers as compared to male callers over a while now”, Kumar said adding this shows that there perhaps was some constraint or some sort of shyness by the females before this initiative was taken.”
Asked as from which region the calls have been more, Kumar said they have seen more calls from Kashmir as compared to Jammu. “If seen within Kashmir, Srinagar people have more calls followed by Anantnag, Baramulla and Pulwama and the other districts as well.”
“The acceptance of this paper is a testimony that it is an acknowledgement and an important step towards the expansion of tele-mental health services, otherwise we have a very acute shortage of psychiatrists as we have many districts where there is no trained psychiatrist at all.”
“This is a step towards the bigger pursuit and larger cause and hopefully we will see better results in coming times.”
“I genuinely and wholeheartedly appreciate and compliment all the doctors who have been part of this study paper”, Kumar further said. (GNS)
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( With inputs from : thegnskashmir.com )

May 1, 2023
Biden launches campaign then delivers speech not mentioning it

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As an official White House event, Biden was not there in his capacity as a candidate. Instead, the speech was a campaign launch without an explicit launch of the campaign. He shook every hand on stage. He flashed a big grin more than once. He peppered his speech with booming yells about workers being the backbone of American and bottom-out economics.
But while the crowd erupted into a “Let’s go Joe” chant, Biden left talk of 2024 somewhere behind the dais. It was an implicit recognition that the actual act of running for office comes with certain legal restrictions, an illustration of how tricky it can be to walk the line between president and incumbent presidential candidate.
Though Biden’s speech came just hours after he formally launched his 2024 campaign with a three-minute video in which he asked voters to help him “finish the job,” he made no such ask of the union members before him.
Still, Tuesday’s speech at the Washington Hilton previewed how the president will make his case in the coming months — with official and political events and travel to highlight his administration’s accomplishments before kicking off a barnstorming general election campaign in 2024. He zeroed in on legislative accomplishments, from the Inflation Reduction Act to the bipartisan infrastructure law, while making the case that his core economic plan was working.
“Under my predecessor, Infrastructure Week was a punchline. On my watch, Infrastructure Week has become a decade headline — a decade. That’s where you all come in. We’ve already announced over 25,000 infrastructure projects in 4,500 towns across America and we’re just getting started,” Biden said.
“Union workers will build roads and bridges, lay internet cable, install 500,000 electric vehicle chargers throughout America. Union workers are going to transform America. And union workers are going to finish the job.”
Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term in the White House, is battling an approval rating stuck in the low 40s. But White House aides have repeatedly emphasized the unpopularity of his political opponents, particularly Trump. Biden will have 18 months to fundraise before Election Day, which could present a rematch with the opponent he beat in 2020, former President Donald Trump.
But on Tuesday, the president’s mood appeared unfazed by the great obstacles hovering over his announcement. The room full of union workers buzzed with chatter about the timing of his appearance.

“As they say, he’s the most pro-labor, pro-union president in the history of the United States. It’s pretty fitting that he announced this today,” said Dustin Himes, of Bricklayers Local 15, a labor union in Kansas City, Mo. “It’s pretty special.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 25, 2023
Mentioning marital status not mandatory for admission: Bangladesh HC

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Dhaka: The Bangladesh High Court on Thursday ruled that mentioning marital status is not mandatory for getting enrolled in educational institutions.
A bench of Justices Naima Haider and Justice Md Khairul Alam delivered the verdict after hearing a writ petition.
Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta represented the state while Aneek R Haque appeared for the writ petitioner during hearing on the rule.
On November 14, 2017, lawyers Fariha Ferdous and Nahid Sultana Jeni had filed the writ in the form of public interest litigation in the High Court following a news report titled “What will the girl do now?”
As per the report, a girl, the daughter of a day labourer, was raped in 2013 when she was a Secondary School Certificate examinee. The rapist was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime. The rape had resulted in pregnancy and she gave birth to a baby.
However, the rape survivor was denied admission to a nursing college as she had not identified herself as “estranged” in the application form as “asked” by the college authority.
The HC on December 11, 2017 issued the rule questioning the legality of the educational institutions’ action seeking information on marital status of admission seekers.
The court issued a rule asking the government authorities to explain as to why such an action of inquiring about the marital status of admission seekers should not be declared unconstitutional.

The court also asked the authorities to enroll the female student to Rajshahi Government Nursing College.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 16, 2023