The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `Calamity-hit people need support'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

`Calamity-hit people need support'

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: "Half a person's misery evaporates if the doctor and para-medical staff listen to him patiently. We need to build up a mechanism which can respond to a patient's misery, be it physical or mental trauma," said I.V. Subba Rao, Principal Secretary, Health.

He was inaugurating a daylong training programme in "Psychological Support for tsunami-affected population in Andhra Pradesh," organised by the Andhra Pradesh State Mental Health Authority (APSMHA) in response to the World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative.

It might be a tsunami now but there were other situations like an outbreak of epidemic or natural calamities when people needed support, he said, adding that year after year, students grappling with examination stress needed such support too.

Emotional needs

Cherian Varghese, WHO's National Professional Officer, spoke of the need to develop response systems to tackle the emotional needs of society.

He said the WHO had launched the initiative in which the District Medical and Health Officers of Krishna and Nellore districts had participated.

The Member-Secretary, APSMHA, M. Gowri Devi said they were in the process of having groups of like-minded people at the district and mandal-levels so that they could respond in times of need.

Others including Directors, M. Mastan Rao (Health) and Sai Gopal (Medical Education) reflected on the need for psycho-social support for people in times of emergency.

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