Community-based suicide prevention programme by NIMHANS to be expanded across Bengaluru South

Key points

• A community-based suicide prevention programme piloted in Karnataka’s Channapatna taluk is set to be expanded across the entire Bengaluru South following encouraging results from a three-year intervention led by NIMHANS.
• The expansion of Project SURAKSHA was announced on Wednesday by the NIMHANS Suicide Prevention, Research, Implementation Training and Engagement Centre (N-SPRITE) in collaboration with the Karnataka government and Himalaya Wellness Company.
• Launched in 2023 in Channapatna taluk, the programme is described by NIMHANS as India’s first sustained community-based suicide prevention initiative.
• It was developed in line with the Suicide Prevention Strategy, 2022, and the World Health Organization’s LIVE LIFE framework.
• In all five taluks The project will now be extended to all five taluks of Bengaluru South.