Increasing children’s access to mental health support in their communities
As in many areas of South Asia, children in Nepal are at high risk of being affected by factors which adversely affect their mental health. These include poverty, child labour, trafficking and exploitation, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and flooding.
Despite this very concerning issue, mental illness in Nepal, and especially amongst young people, has been largely ignored. The government allocates less than 1% of its total health budget to mental health, and child and adolescent mental health services receive a negligible portion of this.
To change this unacceptable situation, we are constantly exploring how we can increase children’s and young people’s access to mental health support in their communities.
Upskilling school nurses
We have successfully trained a group of 40 school nurses from one of the regions in Nepal. This pilot project helped upskill these nurses so that they can provide mental health and emotional support to some of the regions most vulnerable children and adolescents. Our team continues to support these school nurses, giving them access to mental health professionals to build their confidence and work through the more challenging cases.
We continue to explore ways we can connect with schools and young people in their communities, to raise awareness of mental health and fight the stigma that stops so many from seeking help.
For further information on our findings from the School Nursing Project, see our report here:
Report
