Among those four walls
Almost 20% of the Philippine people struggle with mental health disorders.
Depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress afflict approximately 20 million people in the Philippines. In 2017, the Parliament approved a law integrating mental illness into the national health system. In Mandaluyong, a city in the urban agglomerate of Manila, there is the National Center for Mental Health, the director, Dr Bernardino Vicente, explains how the reform will help the people: "So far, those in need of care were forced to travel to reach our centre. Now with the Philippine Mental Health Bill, this centre will no longer be one of the few possibilities for citizens. The government will create Psychiatric departments at regional and local levels." And goes on. "A big part of the budget will be devoted to the information and awareness raising of the people, starting from the school, because one of the huge problems in the Philippines is the stigmatisation of the mental patient." The real problem for the people affected by mental disorders is not inside the centre but outside, among society.
National Center for Mental Health can accommodate about 5000 patients. Still, the idea of the reform is to bring the cure nearby where the patients live. So we will likely need years to train the staff and build facilities to welcome everyone.