Desk Report
Mental health: A Public Responsibility and a Market Challenge Health is more than a commercial service; it is a social necessity. Mental health makes this principle particularly important because those who need treatment most may be least able to afford it. In Bangladesh, where the private healthcare and pharmaceutical industries have expanded significantly, a critical question remains: are these sectors doing enough to make mental healthcare accessible, affordable and equitable?
According to the National Mental Health Survey 2018–19, approximately 16.8 per cent of adults and 13.6 per cent of children aged 7–17 experienced mental disorders. The survey also revealed that 92.3 per cent of affected adults and 94.5 per cent of affected children did not receive treatment. These figures expose a substantial gap between the need for care and access to services. The World Health Organization (WHO)’s 2025 investment case further highlights the economic and social consequences of underinvestment in mental health.
The challenge is not simply a shortage of doctors. Poverty, stigma, geographical inequality, limited awareness and the cost of long-term treatment prevent millions from seeking appropriate care.
A Growing Industry, but Unequal Access
Bangladesh’s private healthcare sector plays a substantial role in delivering medical services, while its pharmaceutical industry supplies a large proportion of the country’s medicines. Domestic production of generic medicines has helped make many essential treatments more accessible. Nevertheless, the availability of medicines does not automatically translate into comprehensive mental healthcare.
According to the WHO’s country assessment, Bangladesh has historically had approximately 260 psychiatrists, equivalent to around 0.16 per 100,000 people. Mental health professionals are also disproportionately concentrated in major cities, particularly Dhaka. Rural communities therefore face additional barriers to diagnosis, counselling, treatment and follow-up care.
Private hospitals, psychiatric clinics, counselling centers and telemedicine platforms can help address these gaps. However, specialist consultations and continuing treatment may remain financially inaccessible to low-income households. The central issue is whether commercial expansion is accompanied by a comparable commitment to public benefit. A profitable healthcare market cannot be considered socially successful if vulnerable people remain excluded from essential services.
Beyond Charity: Rethinking Corporate Responsibility
Pharmaceutical companies and private hospitals can widen access to psychiatric care through affordable medicines, subsidized consultations, treatment packages, staff training and partnerships with community services. Yet occasional medical camps, donations and awareness campaigns cannot replace sustained investment, since mental health conditions often need continuing medication, counselling and social support.
Corporate social responsibility offers a practical framework; joint support for rural clinics, school programmes, helplines and primary care training, plus research into local needs and annual reports on spending, beneficiaries and outcomes. Goodwill alone is not enough, however. Bangladesh needs clear expectations, transparent reporting and safeguards against promotional use of such programmes. Ethical promotion, evidence-based prescribing, clinical need over commercial incentive, and clear information on risks and costs for patients are equally essential.
The Government’s Role
Bangladesh has established a policy foundation through the Mental Health Act 2018 and the National Mental Health Strategic Plan 2020–2030. The challenge is to translate these commitments into accessible services and measurable improvements.
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should steadily raise mental health funding and publish annual expenditure figures; in 2021, mental health received just 0.44 per cent of the national health budget. That investment could expand community services, train health workers and secure essential medicines. Mental healthcare should also become routine in primary care, with upazila health complexes and community clinics offering assessments, basic interventions, referrals and follow-up, while specialists handle complex cases.
Alongside this, the government must set quality standards for private psychiatric facilities, oversee prescribing, clarify costs and keep medicines affordable. Finally, transparent public-private partnerships, with disclosed contributions and independent evaluation, would separate genuine investment from publicity-driven philanthropy.
Society Must Help Break the Stigma
Institutional reform alone cannot overcome the social barriers surrounding mental illness. People experiencing depression, anxiety or other psychological difficulties may avoid treatment because they fear discrimination or are told that their suffering reflects personal weakness.
Families, schools, universities, religious leaders, employers and the media can help challenge these misconceptions. Educational institutions should promote psychological well-being, while workplaces should encourage supportive environments and access to professional assistance. Community organizations and young people can also play an important role in awareness, peer support and early intervention. Companies should support these efforts without making vulnerable individuals instruments of corporate publicity.
Measuring Responsibility by Impact
Bangladesh’s private healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors are not solely responsible for the country’s mental health crisis. However, their resources, expertise and market influence give them both the capacity and the responsibility to contribute more substantially to its solution.
The measure of responsible healthcare is not merely profitability, the number of hospitals established or the volume of medicines sold. It is also whether people who cannot afford treatment can obtain the care they need. The government must strengthen public provision, regulate private services and establish transparent mechanisms for collaboration. Businesses, meanwhile, must move beyond occasional charity towards sustained, measurable investment.
When more than nine in ten affected people remain untreated, mental healthcare cannot be left to market forces alone. A healthier Bangladesh requires an industry that recognizes mental well-being not merely as a commercial opportunity, but as a shared social responsibility.
