President Abraham Lincoln (who suffered from depression a common mental ailment, though of lesser visibility as compared to schizophrenia, most of his adult life commented on his illness as follows : "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would be not one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better. I cannot tell. I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die or be better it appears to me."

In similar vein Sir Winston Churchill described his Illness as "my black dog " The boxed news Item DS 15/2/98 stated

that there were 12 lakh schizophrenia paUents in the country. The total number of others will be many times more.

We are sure that there has been very valuable and learned discussions at the "First International Conference on Psychiatry 98" at Dhaka. This is only a preliminary beginning in the mental health sector. Its success would be what we do after the conference. In very many cases the follow up has been meager.

To our knowledge there is an Institute of Psychiatry in a very nucleus form. A building is also

under construction In the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. The courses offered are of short term duration. Full time postgraduate courses at least of a year's duration is necessary. As students are not so willingly attracted to be trained as psychiatrists. special Incentives such as creating posts upto the Thana level providing foreign and postgraduate courses etc. are necessary. Let our target be to have 6000 psychiatrists by the year 2000. It is neither impossible, nor this is a dream.

We must shed our apathy, insincerity, selfishness etc. to achieve our goals. No foreign consultant or a foreign country can do it for us.