There’s much Indian philanthropists can do for mental healthcare

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The gap in access to mental healthcare in India should perhaps more appropriately be called a chasm. The space is overdue for increased philanthropic interest.

However, while we try to bridge the distance, we should ensure we do it right—with long-term, systemic and structural change rather than short-term interventions. The pandemic brought us a silver lining with the mainstreaming of the mental-health conversation. There has been an increase in funding for the cause from private philanthropists and foundations, many of whom traditionally supported education, healthcare and poverty alleviation.

However, my experience at Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI) tells me that we have barely scratched the surface. Mental health is an urgent, widespread and systemic challenge. Piecemeal and inequitable interventions are grossly insufficient to address it.

To make a meaningful dent, we need to revisit and fine-tune our approach and priorities. For one, most funding is currently directed to mental healthcare institutions in urban areas. This care does not reach remote and marginalized communities such as indigenous or rural groups, Dalit communities, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and people with disabilities.

These groups face unique stressors, higher rates of mental health distress and greater barriers to accessing care. What exacerbates the issue is our current approach of seeing mental healthcare as a top-down service, focusing on diagnosis, and institutional as well as clinical solutions. While we do need to address the gap between the demand and supply of mental health professionals, we tend to overlook the role that peer support networks and community-driven interventions can play.