COUNTRY Insight and challenges: mental health PROFILE services in Nepal Yugesh Rai,1 Deoman Gurung2 and Kamal Gautam3 1MD, Psychiatry Trainee, Essex Kanti Children’s Hospital is the only full-time out- Partnership University NHS This paper describes the current state of patient clinic for children in Nepal. There is no Foundation Trust, UK. Email: mental health services in Nepal and reflects
[email protected] dedicated in-patient unit for children. on the significant changes over the past 2MRCPsych, ST4 (General Adult/ Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have Old Age Psychiatry), Lancashire decade. The main challenges to overcome are Care NHS Foundation Trust, UK played a vital role in the delivery of mental health proper implementation of community-based 2 3 services. Community mental health services were MD, Executive Manager and services, the high suicide rate, stigma of Consultant Psychiatrist, initiated in the 1980s by the United Mission to mental illness, financial constraints, lack of Transcultural Psychosocial Nepal (UMN).3 In the 1990s and early 2000s, Organization Nepal (TPO Nepal), mental health legislation and proper Kathmandu, Nepal NGOs such as the Centre for Victims of utilisation of human resources. Torture, Nepal (CVICT), the Centre for Mental Keywords. Nepal; mental health – services; low- and middle-income Health and Counselling Nepal (CMC-Nepal) countries; psychiatry; mental and the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization health. Nepal is a landlocked country situated in South Nepal (TPO Nepal) provided mental health and Asia between India and China. It became a repub- fl First received 3 Aug 2020 psychosocial care to the victims of civil con ict Final revision 6 Oct 2020 lic, federal state with the promulgation of the con- and the Bhutanese refugee crisis.