Lumbini State Government has released the 'Mental Health and Psychosocial Strategic Action Plan (2081-2086). Chief Minister Chetnarayan Acharya, Health Minister Khem Bahadur Saru, Economic Affairs and Planning Minister Dhanendra Karki, Principal Secretary Wavuram Adhikari and Health Secretary Durgalakshmi Shrestha jointly announced the strategic plan through a formal program in Deukhuri on Monday, approved by the provincial government's cabinet.

At a time when mental health problems are increasing day by day, the state government has brought an action plan with a long-term strategy. Chief Minister Acharya said that the strategic action plan prepared by the state government should not be limited to books. Acharya emphasized that the strategic plan of the state government should be implemented in practice and the services should be provided in such a way that the people can feel it directly.

He directed social awareness programs to focus on basic level classes. He said that all kinds of awareness campaigns including social and mental health should be extended to the village and school level.

'It is necessary for our manpower to reach villages and settlements. But so far, the program has been focused only on places with facilities, so no results have been achieved," he said. "Effective results are not possible without coordination and cooperation between the Ministry of Health, Social Development and Internal Affairs." 

Health Minister Khem Bahadur Saru informed that the provincial government has moved forward in the implementation of the strategic plan. According to him, according to the said plan, necessary training has been provided to nurses and psychosocial consultants. Economic Affairs and Planning Minister Dhanendra Karki pointed out the need for more efforts to make mental health counseling services effective.

Chief Secretary Baburam Adhikari stressed that mental health should be considered as the basis of overall health. "Unless we are mentally healthy, we cannot be healthy in other ways," he said.

According to a national survey, 13 percent of the people of Lumbini province have experienced some kind of mental health problem during their lifetime, while currently 5.4 percent are experiencing such problems. The survey showed that anxiety is 22 percent and depression is 15 percent.

Similarly, among the seven provinces, Lumbini province ranks third in terms of suicide rate. In the province, 26 people commit suicide per 1 lakh population. In addition, the data of the last three financial years shows that there has been a significant increase in both access and demand for mental health services in Lumbini Province. 

According to the Provincial Ministry of Health, 17 thousand 788 beneficiaries received mental health services in the financial year 2079/080. In the following year 2080/081, the number of those taking the service more than doubled to 35,411.

In the recently concluded fiscal year 2081/082, the number of people taking the service was 34 thousand 385, according to the ministry. Although there has been a slight decrease compared to the previous year, the overall trend of the last three years clearly indicates that public awareness and service utilization are expanding in the province.

action plan aims to bring mental health services to the community, protect human rights, provide fact-based services and increase cooperation and coordination between government, private and non-government agencies, said Himal Gayre, Head of Policy, Strategy and Good Governance of CMC Nepal. 'Mental health promotion' has been identified as a primary area in the