World Mental Health Day 2025 || Knowledge Sharing Virtual Seminar Session on Stronger Minds in Challenging Times: Youth and Urban Health

The Bangladesh Urban Health Network (BUHN) hosted a crucial virtual knowledge-sharing session, "Stronger Minds in Challenging Times: Youth and Urban Health," on Thursday, October 09, 2025, in commemoration of World Mental Health Day 2025, aligning with the theme "Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies." The session gathered a diverse audience of students and young professionals to confront the severe mental health challenges impacting urban youth. The discussions highlighted a crisis characterized by immense stigma and a profound service gap, despite rising awareness, with speakers providing sharp critiques of the educational and social environment and offering actionable solutions.

Tanjina Farhana Upoma (Health Officer; UNICEF, Bangladesh) opened the session by emphasizing the vital need to discuss mental health, especially for urban youth encountering difficulties. She stressed the importance of fostering active engagement and mutual peer support to enable young people to share their experiences of mental strength and effectively address these challenges.

The systemic service gap was starkly illustrated by Dr. Syeda Fatema Alam (Director of Wellness, Asian University for Women), who reported that while the knowledge gap is closing, the primary hurdles are access, affordability, and information. She cited alarming statistics: only about 350-400 psychiatrists serve a population of 18-20 crore, resulting in a colossal 92% treatment gap. This widespread lack of access is compounded by pervasive social stigma, with Sabith Hasan Khan Joy (Jahangirnagar University) noting that 80% of people at the grassroots level consider mental health a "mad person's disease", a view reinforced by the fact that 40-50% of university students suffer from depression. Addressing the pressure from the university student perspective, Nahidul Haque (University of Dhaka) discussed the intense academic and career pressure resulting from self-study and career-consciousness, while Abid Zian Hasan (Khilgaon Govt. High School) emphasized that school-age mental problems are often dismissed as minor, exacerbated by social media leading to loneliness. A H Maruf (Duyaripara Government College) detailed the anxiety faced by college students over the fear of failure in high-stakes university admissions, which family pressure equates to having "no future." Furthermore, Sabith Hasan Khan Joy (Jahangirnagar University) criticized the lack of concern, and sometimes harassment, from university teachers, while also noting the profound psychological damage caused by political disasters (like the July Mass Uprising) and the link between poor urban health (lack of playgrounds) and declining mental well-being.

Dr. Susmita Sarkar (Assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry, Ad-din Momin Medical College Hospital Ad-din Momin Medical College Hospital), the Special Guest, underscored the global and national under-prioritization of mental health, highlighting that Bangladesh faces a massive 94-95% treatment gap and a critical shortage of fewer than 500 psychiatrists, despite 18.07% of the adult population suffering from psychological disorders. While praising the current youth generation's rising awareness - largely credited to social media - she strongly refuted the myth that mental illness is incurable, emphasizing that most conditions are treatable. Her core recommendations centered on mandating a psychologist in every educational institution, promoting creative pursuits and career counseling courses to reduce academic stress, and urging the younger generation to overcome stigma and champion mental health.

As the Chief Guest, Dr. Shahin Akter (Technical Operation Director, Eminence Associates for Social Development) emphasized the immediate need for multi-level interventions (family, community, and institutional) to overcome stigma, the major barrier preventing even educated families from seeking mental health support. To address academic pressure and related challenges, she strongly advocated for the immediate institutional implementation of Peer Support Groups and a mandatory psychologist in every facility. Furthermore, she urged the government to ensure the effectiveness of the existing National Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan (2017-2030) and called for establishing Community-based Adolescent Clubs in urban areas to enhance accessibility and support.

The session concluded by synthesizing these points into robust recommendations, primarily advocating for institutional change, mandating a psychologist in every educational institution, strengthening Peer Support Systems (student and teacher groups) across all levels, and integrating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) training. Speakers also called for practical policy changes, such as the establishment of Community-based Adolescent Clubs in urban areas, implementing career counseling courses in universities, promoting creative pursuits over rote academics, and advocating for broader access to mental health hotline numbers and increased government funding. Ultimately, the final goal is to create a physically and mentally healthy nation, urging young voices to advocate that mental health is a priority.