15% of Vietnam Population Suffer from Mental Disorders: Ministry

Statistics by Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs (MoLISA) showed that roughly 13.5 million people or 15% of the country’s total population suffer from 10 common mental disorders. Among them, some 200,000 Vietnamese people suffer from severe mental illnesses. Up to 98% of them cannot take care of themselves, 15% have violent behavior, and 37% yet receive medical treatment. In addition, 18% of families of patients with severe mental illnesses reportedly face discrimination from the community, according to the ministry. The country has 45 social protection centers nationwide to offer care for patients with mental disorders but badly-equipped facilities and untrained staff were unable to offer good care to such patients, the ministry said. MoLISA targets to provide care and functional rehabilitation services to 90% of people with severe mental illnesses by 2020. It also expects to conduct programs that help improve awareness of mental disorders to ease discrimination against patients and their families. (Vietnam News Agency Nov 30)