The Mental Health Act and Public Perception on Resource Allocation in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh government passed a new Mental Health Act in 2018, which formally came into effect on November 14. In order to decrease the significance and endurance of the hundred-year-old statute, the Lunacy Act of 1912, the government enacted the new Act by reformation. The Act is designed to ensure the provision of health services, the preservation of dignity, property rights and rehabilitation, and the general wellbeing of individuals suffering from diseases and disorders associated with mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of public opinions around mental health with regard to resource allocation by policy makers in Bangladesh. By reviewing mental health policy documents and the political literature on resource allocation in mental health, this study finds that despite the provisions of the Act, the lack of public support in mental health often discourages policymakers from allocating appropriate medical resources in mental health services. Since Bangladeshis generally perceive mental illness as a divine punishment apportioned by devil spirit or jinee, public support for mental health services is lacking. Consequently, Bangladeshi policy makers are discouraged from allocating the necessary resources and services in mental health. At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, the shortage of facilities and funds for mental health was acute, creating a huge burden on families of people with mental illness. In order to provide psychological and mental welfare services to its mentally ill and disorder-related patients, the government of Bangladesh must allocate the required resources in mental health.