In a move to address mental health issues faced by tribal communities, the Kerala government has started a comprehensive scheme titled ‘Punarjani’. The scheme has been introduced to ensure better treatment and rehabilitation for the Adivasi populations of Kerala’s Attappadi region in Palakkad district.
According to a survey conducted by the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), over 900 tribespeople in Attappadi have mental health issues. Among them, 320 have been identified as those who are in need of immediate treatment and rehabilitation.
This project comes after several tribal organisations and civil society movements demanded such a scheme in the aftermath of the brutal murder of 30-year-old tribal man Madhu, in broad daylight. On February 22, 2018, Madhu, who hailed from the same region, died after he was attacked by a mob of men who accused him of theft. Madhu reportedly had mental health issues.
Hence, with the motive to help tribal youths with mental health issues, the Health Department is implementing this project, with the active involvement of Thiruvananthapuram-based non-governmental organisation Sri Sathyasai Orphanage Trust Kerala (SSOTK).
The implementation of the project started in mid-September, although it will be formally inaugurated in November. A large treatment and rehabilitation centre is part of it.
A defunct old age home of Agali Grama Panchayat has been handed over to set up the rehabilitation centre. The facility can accommodate 200 patients at a time. The treatment, including accommodation, food and clothing, will be free of cost.
Top psychiatric experts from the Government Mental Health Centre at Kuthiravattam (Kozhikode) and Oolampara (Thiruvananthapuram) will offer services. Nursing staff will also be posted at the centre.
About 17 tribal youth of Attappadi, who are facing mental health issues, have been admitted to this facility. Following treatment, they will be trained in different vocational programmes, after which they can return home. The government is also mulling over offering them financial assistance to start their own business initiatives.
According to KA Ananta Kumar, Executive Director of SSOTK, this project is the brainchild of Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja. “She remains determined that no other tribal youth of Attappadi must face the fate of Madhu. Mental health is a key issue in Attappadi and its 192 tribal hamlets. The region had no facility to treat mental health issues other than occasionally taking some patients to the mental health centre at Kuthiravattom in Kozhikode,” he said.
While the government is bearing the expenses related to the availability of doctors, medicines and maintenance of the building, SSOTK will take care of the expenses related to food, clothing and rehabilitation. The trust will also meet expenses of nursing staff and caretakers. The trust will offer vocational training, too.
The centre will function in close association with Government Tribal Specialty Hospital at Kootathara, Attapady. Deputy District Medical Officer Dr R Prabhudas, who won wide acclaim for his positive interventions in Attappadi to enhance the tribal healthcare facilities, will constantly monitor the facility.
According to the surveys conducted by NRLM and Health Department, mood disorders and schizophrenia are rampant among the tribals in Attappadi, especially those who are aged below 40.
“We had been demanding such a facility even before Madhu was attacked. We are happy that the government has finally started such a facility at the special interest of the Health Minister,” said Maruthi, the leader of a tribal women’s collective, Thaikula Sanghom. Maruthi estimates that around 65% of the people in Attappadi, who have mental health issues, are not getting any kind of treatment currently.
“Most of the mental health issues remain undiagnosed. Only a permanent facility can reach out to all hamlets, targeting those people who show any symptoms. Extension activities like regular visits by psychiatrists to hamlets for identifying and treating new cases are also required here, especially in far and remote hamlets of traditional forest-dwellers like the Kurumba community,” said tribal social activist KA Ramu.
(The author is a Thiruvananthapuram-based freelance writer.)
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