This article discusses the critical issues of mental health in Pakistan, highlighting the significant burden of mental disorders in the country, and limitations of mental health services which are under-addressed. In particular, the authors discuss the under-reporting of the epidemiological rates of mental disorders and the scarcity of mental health professionals and facilities, with only about 500 psychiatrists serving a population of over 244 million. Cultural stigma, economic challenges, and insufficient government funding exacerbate this critical scenario, all limiting access of population to mental health services. Despite some government initiatives and the involvement of Non-governmental Organizations, the mental health infrastructure remains inadequate to meet the demand for care. The authors recommend increasing governmental funding, expanding the mental health literacy in the general population, training healthcare providers, and integrating traditional healers into the formal mental health system to reduce stigma and improve access to care.

There is a lack of evidence regarding the rate of adherence to the World Health Organization (WHO) media guidelines of vernacular newspapers reporting on suicides in Pakistan. Also, the relevance of this report is based on the lack of official data regarding the number of suicides across the country. The aim of this study was to explore the rate of adherence to the WHO guidelines of two popular newspapers in reporting on suicides in Pakistan. We daily analysed the online version of two popular newspapers in Pakistan, the daily Jeejal (in Sindhi) and daily Jang (in Urdu), from 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2022; we performed a content analysis of news reporting on national suicides and evaluated their rate of adherence to the WHO media guidelines. One hundred and seventy-three reports of suicides were identified and analysed; 84% of them reported the names of victims, 70% reported their age, and 46% included information regarding their occupation. Characteristics of suicide methods were reported in 87% of reports, reasons for suicide in 66%, as well as locations in 87%. In general, 84% of newspapers reported incomplete information regarding suicide prevention and help-seeking, so we may conclude they were not fully adherent to the WHO recommendations. This study indicates that national vernacular newspapers may improve their reporting on suicides and should revise their policy in order to be adherent to the WHO guidelines. Also, better and responsible reporting may provide an accurate epidemiological source regarding suicide where official data are missing at the national level.

Numerous studies have been conducted globally to assess the compliance level of newspapers with the World Health Organization’s media guidelines for responsible suicide reporting. To identify and review such studies conducted in Muslim-majority countries between 2014 and 2022, we searched PubMed and Google Scholar databases. We identified 12 eligible studies from Pakistan (n = 4), Bangladesh (n = 2), Malaysia (n = 1), Indonesia (n = 1), Iraq (n = 1), Iran (n = 1), Nigeria (n = 1), and Egypt (n = 1). These studies indicated an overall lack of adherence to the guidelines. However, the level of nonadherence was particularly high in Pakistan. Effective suicide prevention programs may help in promoting responsible reporting of suicide.