Community Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Programme (January 2022 – December 2025)

The aim of this programme is to enhance access to mental health and psychosocial services by integrating them into existing district hospitals, primary health centres and health posts. This seventh phase of this programme is being implemented in 16 (rural) municipalities of 4 districts (Okhaldunga, Udayapur, Surkhet and Jajarkot) of Nepal. CMC-Nepal, in collaboration with the Non Communicable Disease and Mental Health Section of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division and the National Health Training Centre of the Department of Health Service (DoHS), at central level, Ministry of Social Development at provincial level & with local government at community level, has been conducting training on mental health and psychosocial counselling support to government health professionals. Post training supportive clinical supervision and backstopping is inbuilt within the training. It is also creating awareness at community level through radio programs, awareness campaigns and workshops with female community health volunteers (FCHV), traditional healers, mother groups, teachers, health facility operation management committee (HFOMC) and other community people. CMC-Nepal is also working with persons with mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities and their family members to disseminate or educate them in mental health, mental illness and its effects at individual, family and community level by encouraging them to raise their voices for the protection of rights to services and other social benefits with the formation of self-help group, for self-advocacy. Financial support for this project is provided by Tearfund Australia.