NIMHANS and Ashraya Hastha Trust sign MoU to pilot rural mental health programme in two taluks

In a release, NIMHANS said, “This programme envisions to deliver promotive (i.e., implementing multi-pronged approach to promote mental health in the general public); preventive (i.e., engaging with vulnerable populations to prevent mental illnesses, including addiction to substances and gadgets); therapeutic (i.e., providing comprehensive interventions and appropriate referrals for those with mental illnesses); and rehabilitative (i.e., offering comprehensive rehabilitation services including disability assessment and benefits to the persons living with mental health conditions) care for the entire population of the target taluks utilising the existing human resources in the community.”

NAMAN will be implemented over three years in four different phases: resource building which includes staff recruitment and training, situational analysis under which mental health of the respective taluks will be assessed, intervention which involves therapeutic and rehabilitation. The final phase is evaluation.

NIMHANS will develop and implement the overall road map of the programme. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) -Rishikesh will collaborate with NIMHANS to deliver the programme in Uttarakhand. Other implementation partners include the Government of Karnataka and the Government of Uttarakhand. K Dinesh, Co-founder of Infosys and Managing Trustee of AHT, said he is optimistic about this collaboration to strengthen the country’s mental health service delivery.