In a bid to address the growing burden of mental health problems in the country, the government is planning to launch a nationwide mental health campaign.

The campaign includes an awareness drive, distribution of medicines for mental health for free throughout the year at all state-run health facilities, screening training for mental health problems to health workers at state-run health institutions, and programmes to lessen the existing suicide rate, officials said.

A high-level meeting on Monday led by Binod Prakash Singh, secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, agreed to form three separate committees to launch a nationwide mental health campaign, said Dr Phanindra Baral, chief of the mental health section at the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. “Singh told us that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal himself is concerned about the growing burden of mental health problems,” Baral said.

Studies show magnitude, suffering, burden and costs for individuals, families and societies due to mental health disorders are alarming in Nepal.

According to data provided by Nepal Police, 6,993 people died by suicide in the fiscal year 2022-23, over 19 people on average each day. Fifty-six percent of those who die by suicide are men.

A study carried out by the Nepal Health Research Council in the past shows that about 13 percent of Nepalis suffer from some form of mental disorder. This means around one in eight Nepalis have mental health issues.

Nepal is among the countries with the highest rate of suicide, which is an extreme manifestation of a mental health problem.

As the cost of living rises and people struggle to manage even the most basic of needs, including food, housing, health care and job security, among others, an increasing number of them are facing mental problems, experts say.

Moreover, the country simply does not have enough experts to treat mental health problems, they say. The prospect of hiring mental health experts for district hospitals in the near future is slim, as the whole country has a shortage of such experts, according to Health Ministry officials.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the meeting has decided to form a monitoring and facilitation committee, a Rapid Action team and an awareness committee for the nationwide drive.

“We hope the government will prioritise mental health in the budget as the prime minister himself has shown concern,” Baral said. “The planned nationwide campaign will help lessen the existing stigma around mental health problems and help patients get the right treatment at their own places.”

Experts say people in Nepal generally do not like to talk about mental health problems due to social stigma attached to them and lack of awareness. They say that people do not attempt suicide for a single reason. Whatever the cause, suicides and suicide attempts have a ripple effect—impacting families, friends, colleagues, communities and societies.

Health ministry officials said that mental health screening programmes have been launched in 22 districts with financial and technical support of the World Health Organisation. The government has been working to start the programme in the remaining 55 districts.

As part of the programme, health workers serving in local health facilities will refer complicated cases of mental health to the provincial or central hospitals or expertise care, officials said.