Why Mental Health is actually going to get better after the war?

Why Mental Health is actually going to get better after the war?

Sri Lanka was a typical low income country in most ways except with regards to health indices for many decades. Sri Lanka’s indices of general well-being, such as maternal mortality rate and life expectancy, and also indices related to well-being such as literacy and population growth rate have been well above regional and other low income countries throughout the world.

The war in Sri Lanka between the government forces and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did teach us many lessons. For an example Sri Lankans learnt with first-hand experience how the war is reported by international media in a highly biased and inaccurate way, realizing that free and independent media are never free and independent. Sri Lankans also learnt how various factions and agents tried to manipulate the public opinion as well as government in order to achieve various outcomes unfavorable to Sri Lankans, one of them being the attempt to save the LTTE leadership by enforcing a ceasefire at the final stages of the war.

Now, in the post-war era, Sri Lanka is perfectly placed to reap unbelievable benefits as far as the collective well-being of the masses is concerned. As above factors have created a strong platform for Sri Lanka to leap into a future of excellence, it has become the duty of the current generation to make maximum use of it.

This paper highlights some perspectives of that leap by hypothetically developing few case scenarios. Each scenario is based on actual past and present circumstances.

Tobacco prevention

Sri Lanka has always been a pioneer in health promotion and disease prevention. Rates of tobacco use in Sri Lanka has been historically low. However there have been crafty tactics in the past to promote cigarette smoking in various groups. Free distribution of a cigarette quota among Sri Lanka Army soldiers stand out as perhaps one of the most egregious methods in 1980s.

Prevalence of tobacco smoking in Sri Lanka has been falling from year XXXX due to multifaceted governmental and non-governmental efforts. The introduction of a comprehensive bill to curb tobacco as well as alcohol use, National Authority of Tobacco and Alcohol Act, made a significant alteration to the landscape of tobacco and alcohol prevention in Sri Lanka. (Any data such as a rapid decline of prevalence after that year)

Now, in the post-war era, it is really exciting to observe how the trends going to change. There is evidence that the tobacco and alcohol industry have aggressively started to reach the newly-opened markets in the North and East of the country. At certain instances they have been able to forge close links with administration as well. Meanwhile the tobacco-prevention forces, too, have been able to operate in the newly liberated areas, which have never seen the light of modern tobacco prevention strategies. Governmental and non-governmental efforts to curb tobacco have escalated to another level with introduction of graphic pictorial warnings on cigarette packets. Soon, they will target the shady ways the tobacco industry continuing to make increasing profits with declining sales year after year.

The future can be hypothesized to take an exciting trajectory of the tobacco prevention story in this country. With the expansion of public opinion of the tobacco industry as an evil industry, well supported by medical and other professions with the backing of media, the day cigarette sale is made illegal is bound to come.

 

Suicide prevention

 

Resisting outside manipulation