Nepal witnessed an alarming rise in the suicide cases in the last fiscal year.

According to data provided by the Nepal Police, 7,223 people killed themselves in the fiscal year 2023-024, which is the highest ever recorded in a year.

“Around 20 people killed themselves on an average every 24-hour in the last fiscal year,” said Dr Pomawati Thapa, chief of the Non-communicable Disease and Mental Health Section at the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. “The number is the highest ever recorded in any fiscal year.”

Nepal is among the countries with the highest suicide rates.

Police data show that 6,993 people killed themselves in the fiscal year 2022-023, followed by 6,792 in the fiscal year 2021-022.

As many as 7,117 people took their own lives in the fiscal year 2020-021, during which the country witnessed the second and third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Reducing one-third of premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention, treatment and promotion of mental health and well-being is among the UN-backed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets to which Nepal is committed.

Experts say the suicide rate is an indicator of premature mortality within the SDGs, which are a follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“At the time when the government committed to SDGs in 2015, around 16 people took their own lives every 24 hours,” said Basudev Karki, a consultant psychiatrist. “Now the number has risen to 20. Our government had committed to reduce the suicide rate to 9.7 per 100,000 each year by 2022, but this number rose to 24, and last year it increased further to 25.”

The government aims to reduce the suicide rate to 4.7 per 100,000 population by 2030 to meet the SDG targets, but as the deadline nears, more people are killing themselves every day.

Mental health experts say people do not attempt suicide for any single reason, but rather due to a complex mix of factors including the rising cost of living and struggle to manage even their most basic needs such as food, housing, healthcare, and job security.

Whatever the cause, suicides and suicide attempts have a ripple effect, impacting not only the individual but also families, friends, colleagues, communities, and societies, according to them

A study carried out by the Nepal Health Research Council before the start of the pandemic shows that more than 10 percent of the adult population had mental issues in their lifetime and 4.3 percent were undergoing some sort of mental crisis.

The prevalence of suicidality, including current suicidal thoughts, past suicide attempts, and a future likelihood of suicidal thoughts, was found to be prevalent in the 7.2 percent population.

“Even those individuals who appear healthy on the outside could also be struggling with serious mental health problems,” said Karki. “People generally do not like to talk about mental health issues due to the social stigma attached, and lack of awareness. To tackle the growing mental health problems, authorities concerned have to take multiple approaches.”

Meanwhile, officials at the Ministry of Health and Population said that they are aware of the growing burden of mental health issues and the rising suicide rate and have been taking various measures to address the problems.

“Along with providing free medications for mental health problems at state-run health facilities, we have been taking several other measures that include imparting mental health screening training for health workers,” said Thapa, chief of the Non-communicable Disease and Mental Health Section at the division. “We have been working to declare two local units—Palungtar Municipality of Gorkha and Bagchaur Municipality of Salyan—as model municipalities for mental health.”

According to officials, various mental health programmes will be rolled out in these local units, including screening for mental health problems and training for health workers, community workers, teachers, female community health volunteers, and others. Awareness campaigns will be launched, and health facilities will be strengthened to provide basic services for mental health problems.

“This programme will be launched as a pilot and will be gradually expanded to other local units,” said Thapa. “The main aim of the programme is to encourage the local bodies to take responsibility for addressing the growing mental health issues. We will also launch an awareness drive to reduce the suicide rate, alcohol consumption, and substance use.”

The World Health Organisation says one in four people in the world are affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives, and around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill health and disability worldwide.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the following helplines.

Nepal Mental Hospital suicide hotline: 1166

Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital suicide prenvention hotline: 9840021600:

Patan Hospital crisis helpline for suicide prevention: 9813476123

The Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation: 16600102005