No Health Without Mental Health

Community-led Intervention to Build Robust Mental Health Services Delivery Models

Nearly 150 million people in India live with common mental disorders that include depression, anxiety, stress and associated suicide risk. Most receive no care and experience stigma-related marginalisation from their communities. While the National Mental Health Programme aims to make mental health services available to everyone including people living in hard to reach communities, but till date the programme has been unable to provide effective and comprehensive care to majority of those in need across the country.  

Through our pilot projects, we have gathered crucial evidence to build a solution for tackling stigma and mental health disorders in hard to reach and marginalised communities, especially the scheduled tribe communities and adolescents and young people living in slums. We have two major approaches: a participatory community-led approach to address stigma and a proven technology enabled m-health (mobile health) platform. The community-based strategies to address stigma and raise mental health awareness have also benefited large communities.

The George Institute’s platform is now ready to be implemented in more districts in the country. It will support primary health care doctors and community health workers to screen and manage common mental disorders. There is huge potential to integrate this technology component within the existing public primary healthcare system and increase knowledge and awareness in the community about mental health and help-seeking.

The evidence-based recommendations will nudge policy makers to bring about change in mental health services in the community.

Help us to reduce stigma and increase mental wellbeing of Scheduled Tribe communities.

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