Representational image | Photo Credit: Indiatimes

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday warned that India was staring at a possible mental health epidemic and said over 90 percent of those affected by mental health issues do not receive the required medical care.

While inaugurating the World Congress of Mental Health, the president quoted World Health Organisation (WHO) figures to state that India has one of the highest prevalence of mental illnesses globally. Read: World Mental Health Day 2017 - 3 simple ways to create a happy, determined workplace

"Our National Mental Health Survey, 2016 found that close to 14 percent of India's population required active mental health interventions. About two percent suffered from severe mental disorders," Kovind said.

Nearly two hundred thousand Indians take their own lives each year and if data for attempted suicide was included the number went up substantially, he added.

The president warned that India was staring at a possible mental health epidemic. Read: Feeling anxious? Five brilliant tips to beat stress, anxiety

"These are worrying statistics. It is also a fact that those living in metropolitan cities and those who were young — whether in the productive age group or children and teenagers — are most vulnerable to mental illnesses, he said.

In India, he said, both these factors were a cause for concern as India had a young population, with 65 percent of people below the age of 35.

"And our society is rapidly urbanising. This leaves us staring at a possible mental health epidemic," he said.

Given the figures, the president said, it was "an irony that 90 percent of Indians in need simply don't receive mental healthcare".

"There are several reasons for this and I hope they will be addressed in this conference," he said.

The president said these issues should be treated with a correct approach.

"The biggest obstacle that mental health patients have to encounter is stigma and denial. This leads to the issue being ignored or simply not discussed. In some cases, it leads to self-diagnosis that is unsuitable or could worsen the situation. It may even lead to other extreme steps," he said.

Kovind added that as a society the country would have to fight this culture of stigma.

"We need to talk about mental health issues and treat ailments such as depression and stress as diseases that can be cured–-not as guilty secrets that must be pushed under the carpet," he said.

Kovind also highlighted the "scarcity" of doctors and counsellors to treat such instances.

"A second major gap in combating the mental health challenge is that of human resources. India is a country with 1.25 billion people but just seven hundred thousand doctors– less than one million," he underlined.

In the field of mental health, he said, the scarcity was even more acute.

There are only about five thousand psychiatrists and less than two thousand clinical psychologists in the country, Kovind said.

"We need to act," he said, adding that these numbers of doctors and mental health experts were extremely inadequate.

"It is vital to tap into our wealth of traditional knowledge and link its learning to modern research on mental health. This will promote a holistic approach to mental healthcare, combining the best of different fields of practice," he said.

The president said India's mental health challenge was like capturing a society in multiple transitions.

"From traditional diseases, it is gradually non-communicable diseases that are emerging as a major threat to our people and their well being. This is part of a worldwide trend. And many non-communicable diseases are either rooted in or associated with mental health issues," he said.

About a thousand delegates, including 300 from across the globe, are participating in the conference.