Nimhans launches suicide surveillance project for rural Karnataka

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans), in collaboration with the state government and Himalaya Wellness Company, launched a surveillance system to track suicide and self-harm (SURAKSHA) on Thursday.

The project aims to develop an indigenous community-based suicide prevention model, along the lines of WHO’s ‘Live Life’ approach.

Under the project, surveillance teams comprising local residents such as ASHAs and gram panchayat members will be trained frequently in early identification of those at risk, crisis prevention and making referrals.

As per the National Crime Records Bureau report of 2021, suicide rate in Karnataka is 19.5 per lakh of population, which is higher than the national average of 12.

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The project, which focuses on rural Karnataka, will be piloted in 32 panchayats of Channapatna taluk in Ramanagara. While Himalaya Wellness will fund the project for the next three years, the state government and Nimhans will implement it. The pilot aims to create a framework that can then be scaled up to other parts of Karnataka, and later India, says Dr Anish V Cherian, principal investigator of the project and associate professor at Nimhans.

“By the end of three years, we will implement the model in taluks of Mangaluru, Haveri and Ballari as well. Initially the focus is on developing interventions and forming trained teams. Later we will look at outcomes like increase in help-seeking behaviour and reduction in suicides,” he says.

In addition to the surveillance team, the project has other components like setting up a central storage system for pesticides, training staff at government health centres to support suicide-attempt patients, training school students and teachers, training media persons for responsible reporting of suicide, and circulating information to the public.

Speaking at the project launch, Uma Mahadevan, Additional Chief Secretary of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, said, “In view of the shortage of mental health professionals to cater to the needs of the growing population, projects like SURAKSHA can bring out comprehensive, sustainable models.”