KATHMANDU, JULY 16 The Government of Nepal and the United Nations on Wednesday launched a three-year joint programme to strengthen the country's mental health system and expand access to mental health and psychosocial support services, particularly for women, children, adolescents and other vulnerable communities. The Joint UN Mental Health Support Programme (2025–2028), funded by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), will be implemented in Karnali, Lumbini and Madhesh provinces. The initiative is jointly led by the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the government. The programme aims to improve mental health policies, strengthen service delivery, build the capacity of health workers and promote innovation in mental health care at the federal, provincial and local levels. It will also support the review of national mental health strategies, establish online training platforms and resource centres, and encourage public-private partnerships to improve service delivery. Launching the programme, Additional Health Secretary Dr Shree Krishna Shrestha said the initiative marked an important step in expanding access to quality mental health services across Nepal and reaffirmed the government's commitment to working with development partners to strengthen the sector. The programme comes amid growing concerns over mental health in Nepal. According to the Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (NMICS) 2024–25, 9.3 percent of young people aged 15–24 reported symptoms of depression or anxiety, with young women twice as likely as men to experience psychological distress. Despite the adoption of the National Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan (2020–2025), access to services remains limited, particularly outside urban areas, due to shortages of trained personnel and fragmented service delivery. Citing a recent study by the Ministry of Health and Food Safety, WHO and UNDP, organisers said investing in mental health could save nearly 17,000 lives and generate almost one million healthy life years over the next two decades. The study estimates that every rupee invested in mental health could generate nearly six rupees in health and economic returns. UN Resident Coordinator Lila Peters Yahia said mental illness costs Nepal an estimated Rs 18.7 billion annually, making investment in mental health not only a public health priority but also an economic necessity. Swiss Ambassador to Nepal Dr Danielle Meuwly said the programme offers an opportunity to move from fragmented interventions towards a stronger, nationally owned mental health and psychosocial support system. The programme is expected to directly benefit around 54,000 people while contributing to Nepal's Health Sector Strategic Plan (2022–2030) and the government's governance reform agenda, which identifies mental health as a national priority.