Sikkim Launches Pioneering Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Strategy on Statehood Day

16th May 2025
Gangtok, Sikkim – In a landmark step towards addressing increasing challenges and advancing mental health and well-being in the State, the Sikkim Integrated Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Strategy, 2025-2030 (‘strategy’) was launched today on the occasion of the 50th Day of Statehood of Sikkim at Paljor Stadium, Gangtok by the Hon’ble Governor of Sikkim, Shri Om Prakash Mathur; the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri PS Tamang; Commissioner cum Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Department, Shri PrabhakarIAS; Secretary, Planning and Development Department, Shri Rinzing Chewang IAS and Additional Secretary cum Program Director Sikkim INSPIRES, Mrs. RohiniPradhan, SCS.
 
The strategy is an initiative of Sikkim INSPIRES led by the Health & Family Welfare Department and the Planning and Development Department. The strategy was developed with the technical support of the Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy, Indian Law Society, using a participatory and bottom-up approach withdiverse stakeholders in Sikkim, to ensure that the same reflected the unique mental health and suicide prevention needs of Sikkim’s diverse population. The development process included multiple stakeholder consultations, formative scoping interviews, focus group discussions and an online citizen survey with civil society representatives including young people, panchayats, self-help groups, teachers and educators, NGOs, LGBTQ+ representatives, persons with lived experience, persons with disabilities, media personnel, social media influencers, panchayats and other NGOs, international and national experts on mental health from AIIMS, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (GOI), Ministry of Social Justice (GOI), McGill University and experts from Sikkim.
 
The vision of the Sikkim Integrated Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Strategy, 2025-20230 is to “promote the prosperity, mental health, and well-being of the people of Sikkim, and to prevent mental health problems and suicide. This will be accomplished by providing inclusive, accessible, affordable, good-quality mental health and social care through a recovery-oriented, rights-based, intersectoral approach informed by principles of social justice, tailored to the needs of Sikkim’s diverse population.” The strategy outlines the following five strategic areas of action with detailed activities, interventions and outcomes:
 
1) Strengthening governance and leadership for mental health & suicide prevention
2) Ensuring comprehensive, integrated &community-based mental health care
3) Promotion of mental health & suicide prevention
4) Evidence-based suicide prevention interventions
5) Prevention, treatment & recovery for substance-use, alcohol & other addictions
6) Research for mental health & suicide prevention
 
The Sikkim INSPIRES team led by the Planning and Development Department and the Health & Family Welfare Department is now poised to set the implementation of the strategy with an orientation workshop for government and non-government stakeholders on 19thMay 2025 to develop an action plan for implementation of the strategy in the next five years. This initiative reaffirms the Government of Sikkim’s commitment to improving the mental health and well being of the people of the state.