India's free mental health helpline has logged over 47.75 lakh calls since 2022, even as a new WHO report finds most countries still rely on psychiatric hospitals.

BulletsIn

• Tele-MANAS, India's national tele-mental health service, has received 47,75,644 calls since its launch on 10 October 2022, according to the Health Ministry.
• The toll-free helpline 14416 offers free, confidential counselling around the clock and works through 53 Tele-MANAS cells across all 36 States and Union Territories.
• Tele-MANAS stands for Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States and operates under the National Tele Mental Health Programme.
• Women account for nearly 44 percent of recorded caller profiles, while about 73.2 percent of analysed callers are aged between 18 and 45.
• Mental health services have been integrated into more than 1.83 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, and the District Mental Health Programme is sanctioned for 767 districts.
• The Health Ministry's MANN Jaagriti initiative aims to raise community awareness, reduce stigma and encourage people to seek help early.
• A new WHO report finds that 81 percent of countries still deliver mental health services mainly through psychiatric hospitals.
• Only 9 percent of countries have completed the transition to community-based mental healthcare, according to the same report.
• About 63 percent of countries in WHO's South-East Asia Region are at an early stage of transition, and none has completed the shift.
• Globally, 28 percent of psychiatric inpatients stay beyond six months, and 16 percent remain hospitalised for more than a year.
• Roughly 47 percent of reported mental health spending goes to psychiatric hospitals rather than community services.
• The National Mental Health Survey puts India's overall mental health treatment gap at 83 percent, underlining the need for care closer to people's homes.

Tags: TeleMANAS, MentalHealth, WHOReport