China’s health commission to narrow gaps in mental health services
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The repercussions on mental health from such economic pressures are growing, experts say.
PHOTO: AFP
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HONG KONG – China's National Health Commission said that it will address gaps in its mental health services from 2025 to 2027 as authorities try to deal with an increasing number of mental health issues, particularly among children and adolescents.
China will set up a mental health hotline, establish regional mental health centres throughout the country and “actively develop key clinical specialities” in mental health, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Dec 31.
The announcement comes as mental health issues have sprung to the forefront in China after several violent incidents in 2024,
Outpatient services for mental and sleep disorders should be available at a minimum of at least one hospital in each prefecture and city nationwide by 2025, the NHC said.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 54 million people in China, out of a population of 1.4 billion, suffer from depression, and about 41 million suffer from anxiety disorders.
The prevalence of depression among adolescents is around 2 per cent, the official news agency Xinhua has reported, citing Mr Xie Bin, the Communist Party chief of the Shanghai Mental Health Centre.
More than 95 per cent of China's schools are expected to have a full-time or part-time instructor for mental health education in 2025, according to a three-year national action plan launched in 2023.
As China's economy slows, employment opportunities are more precarious and fewer people are being lifted up by China's long-running economic growth.
The repercussions on mental health from such economic pressures are growing, experts say.
China's official crime statistics show that its rates of violent crime are much lower than global averages. REUTERS
