Police have reported a slight decline in the number of deaths by suicide across the country in the last fiscal year. As many as 6,866 people died by suicide in Nepal in the fiscal year 2024-25, down from 7,223 in fiscal year 2023-24. On average, around 18 people still commit suicide daily. Nepal has repeatedly set lofty aspirations in reducing the rate of suicide. In its 2015 commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, the government had committed to cutting the suicide rate to 9.7 per 100,000 each year by 2022. In 2015, around 16 people took their own lives every 24 hours. This number peaked last year with 25 suicides committed every 24 hours. Now, in order to meet the SDG targets, the government aims to reduce the rate to 4.7 per 100,000 population by 2030, which experts say is impossible based on current trends.

The most significant driving factor of suicide is that issue of mental health is still not talked about enough in public and private spheres. With awareness efforts few and far between, social stigma on mental health persists. People with mental health issues who go on to commit suicide tend not to open up about their travails even with their closest family members. Family and friends often overlook telltale signs of mental health struggles in their loved ones, and often avoid difficult conversations. Instead, they choose methods such as marrying off individuals struggling with mental health. This is borne out of an acute lack of awareness.

Another big reason behind the high number of suicides is a shortage of dedicated health workers. According to the Psychiatrists’ Association of Nepal’s website, there are currently 263 psychiatrists registered with it. As per the 2021 census data, there are around 0.9 registered psychiatrists per 100,000 people, which is far below the global average of 5.9 psychiatrists per 100,000 people. In addition, most psychiatrists are concentrated in the city areas, cutting off the people in remote areas from crucial mental healthcare.

Men are more likely to commit suicide compared to women. Police data show that around 60 percent more men (3,704) committed suicide in fiscal year 2024-25 as compared to women (2,308). The global trend is similar. Men are still expected to suppress their emotions and keep mum about their mental health. There is thus a case for awareness programmes especially targeted at young men.

We also need more mental health professionals. Be it by motivating health workers to choose academic tracks in mental health or by subsidising mental health education in medical colleges, we as a society must foster a culture of prioritising mental health. In addition, mental healthcare workers must be incentivised to move to remote areas where their need is dire. Our national aspirations on decreasing suicide cases are unrealistically lofty. By setting more realistic goals, these efforts will bear quantifiable results, encouraging further efforts.

Again, the slight dent in yearly suicide rate cannot be seen as a sign of progress. Much remains to be done. Youngsters today feel more at ease opening up to ChatGPT than they do to fellow human beings. This is happening also because Nepali families and communities still refuse to recognise mental health issues as genuine health problems that can be treated with right intervention. Unless Nepal can create an environment where mental health problems can be openly discussed in our homes, schools and workplaces, far too many people will continue to suffer—and die.