AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
Islamabad:The Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal, announced that a National Mental Health Policy has been developed to bring mental healthcare closer to every family across the country.
According to Radio Pakistan, Kamal made this announcement during the inaugural session of the Pakistan Global Mental Health Summit 2026, held in Islamabad. The summit’s theme is “Building Climate-Resilient and Future-Ready Mental Health Systems for Children, Young People and Communities in Pakistan.”
Kamal highlighted that an estimated 24 million people in Pakistan require psychiatric assistance, yet the country faces a shortage with fewer than one psychiatrist per 500,000 people.
He further explained that the National Mental Health Policy aims to provide a unified national strategy while allowing individual regions, including provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, to tailor their responses to local needs.