The National Planning Commission is working to unveil a suicide prevention strategy, in its effort to facilitate coordination among agencies concerned to reduce the ongoing incidents of suicide in the country.

A draft has been prepared and the Commission has been consulting experts to put the finishing touches on the strategy, officials said.

“The suicide prevention strategy will be unveiled soon,” said Pradeep Pariyar, joint secretary at the Commission. “The strategy will be unveiled and enforced in the current fiscal year itself.”

Nepal is among countries with the highest suicide rates.

The data provided by the Nepal Police shows an upward trend in suicide incidents. According to the data, 6,993 people died by suicide in the fiscal year 2022-2023, which averages to more than 19 people daily.

In the fiscal year 2021-022, a total of 6,792 people died by suicide (over 18 people on average each day). The number was lower than in the previous fiscal year 2020-2021, when 7,117 (over 19 each day) took their own lives.

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).

“In 2015, when Nepal committed to SDGs, around 16 people used to die by suicide every day, and currently more than 19 kill themselves daily,” said Dr Basudev Karki, a consultant psychiatrist. “The government had committed to lessen the number of suicides to 9.7 per 100,000 each year by 2022, but this number rose to 24 in 2022.”

As the deadline for attaining the SDG draws closer and the country is nowhere close to meeting the goals, the National Planning Commission itself has taken the lead for coordination among the agencies, officials say.

Doctors say people do not attempt suicide for any single reason, but due to a complex situation compounded by multiple problems—rising cost of living, and struggle to manage even their most basic needs such as food, housing, healthcare and job security, among others.

Whatever the cause, suicides and suicide attempts have a ripple effect—impacting families, friends, colleagues, communities and societies, according to them

Even people looking healthy from the outside could also be suffering from serious mental health problems.

In Nepal, generally, people do not like to talk about mental health problems due to the social stigma attached, and lack of awareness.

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 has mental health issues.

Health Ministry officials said initiatives taken by the commission to issue suicide prevention strategy, show that the government has taken the issue seriously.

“Suicide is not only related to the issue of health, it is also linked with education, communication, economy, and agriculture among others,” said Dr Phanindra Baral, chief of the mental health section at the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. “A multi-sectoral approach is needed to address the problems and the Commission is coordinating among the relevant agencies in this regard.”

The World Health Organization said that suicides are preventable and much can be done to prevent them at individual, community and national levels.

Doctors say suicide affects people of all ages and backgrounds and even severely depressed people can change their minds if they get proper and timely counselling and address their problems on time.

“Easing access to counselling services, timely detection of mental health problems, imparting life skills to people, and creating general awareness on the stigma attached to mental health problems and addressing the specific problems of the patients are some of the ways to prevent ongoing suicides,” said Karki. “Multiple agencies have to fulfill their roles and responsibilities to address these problems.”

Officials at the Health Ministry hope that ministries as well as government agencies concerned will take into account the strategy while preparing new budgets.