"I hope that with these key strategies, we would be able to solve the existing health problems," Harbuwono stated at the "Summit of the World Mental Health Day" event here on Monday.
According to the deputy minister, the three main strategies should be merged and integrated with a pentahelix collaboration, which is a cooperation between the government and universities, the private sector, professional organizations, mass media, as well as donor agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The deputy minister highlighted that promoting mental health awareness, such as through early detection in all life cycles and settings, is expected to prevent and control the number of people with mental health problems.
"This collaboration is absolutely necessary to accelerate the health development goals in Indonesia," he stated.
Meanwhile, he emphasized that significant mental health problems had resulted in social consequences and impacted human rights and the economy.
Related news: BPJS Kesehatan must cover treatment of self-inflicted injuries
According to the Basic Health Research data in 2018, the prevalence of households with members suffering from schizophrenic mental disorders, or psychosis, increased, from 1.7 per mile in 2013 to seven per mile in 2018.
The prevalence of depression in 2018 was 6.1 percent, or about 12 million people, in those above 15 years of age.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, there was also an increase in mental health problems and disorders by 64.3 percent, both due to suffering from the COVID-19 disease and socio-economic problems as a result of the pandemic," Harbuwono revealed.
In 2022, the World Mental Health Day campaign bore the theme of "Make Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority."
Meanwhile, Indonesia raised the theme of "recover together, a mentally healthy generation" in commemoration of World Mental Health Day 2022.
Related news: Pandemic has had major impact on mental health: ministry
Translator: Rizka K, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
