ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Health has started finalising arrangements for the Global Mental Health Summit.
The summit will be held in connection with World Mental Health Day on October 1–2. It will be convened under the theme “Building Climate-Resilient and Future-Ready Mental Health Systems for Children, Young People and Communities” with the support of lead development partners.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, Pakistan carries a substantial burden of mental, neurological and substance use conditions, while mental health services remain fragmented, under-resourced and concentrated largely in urban tertiary centres. An estimated 10–16pc of adults live with a mild-to-moderate psychiatric condition and a further 1–2pc with severe mental illness. Mental disorders are the leading cause of years lived with disability nationally and across Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad, and are the leading contributor to total disability-adjusted life years among Pakistani women.
”The treatment gap remains substantial, with an estimated 80pc or more of people with a diagnosable mental illness receiving no formal mental health care in a given year. Approximately, 500 psychiatrists and 200 clinical psychologists serve a population of more than 240 million, while only around 1pc of psychiatric beds nationally are reserved for children and adolescents.
The burden is further compounded by climate and disaster-related risks. Following the 2022 floods, which affected an estimated 33 million people, government assessments concluded that one in five residents of flood-affected areas would require mental health care. Baseline assessments in affected communities found depression in 38pc and anxiety in 20pc of those evaluated. The economic cost of mental illness was estimated at approximately Rs617 billion in 2020”, it stated.
Additionally, the Ministry of Health is currently developing the National Mental Health Policy (NMHP) 2026–35 in consultation with the provinces/regions, with the aim of translating national commitments into actions at provincial/regional level. The summit will provide a national platform to take the policy forward.
“For too long, mental health has been treated as a private difficulty rather than a public responsibility. The evidence no longer permits that. Mental illness is today the single leading cause of years lived with disability in this country. It is not at the margins of our health system, it is at its centre, and our policy response must reflect that,” Minister of State for Health Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad said in a statement.
The summit will bring together federal and provincial governments, parliamentarians, UN partners, national and international mental health experts, academic institutions, development partners, young people, civil society and people with lived experience.
The programme will focus on child and adolescent mental health, including the launch of the South Asia Child and adolescent mental health landscape analysis; suicide prevention, substance use, digital mental health and innovation, and climate-resilient mental health systems, including the integration of mental health and psychosocial support into disaster-risk-reduction and climate adaptation planning.
Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2026
