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A community-based termination prevention programme piloted successful Karnataka’s Channapatna taluk is acceptable to beryllium expanded crossed the full Bengaluru South pursuing encouraging results from a three-year involution led by NIMHANS.
The enlargement of Project SURAKSHA was announced connected Wednesday by the NIMHANS Suicide Prevention, Research, Implementation Training and Engagement Centre (N-SPRITE) successful collaboration with the Karnataka authorities and Himalaya Wellness Company.
Launched successful 2023 successful Channapatna taluk, the programme is described by NIMHANS arsenic India’s archetypal sustained community-based termination prevention initiative. It was developed successful enactment with the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, 2022, and the World Health Organization’s LIVE LIFE framework.
In each 5 taluks
The task volition present beryllium extended to each 5 taluks of Bengaluru South. The Karnataka authorities has besides approved the archetypal signifier of implementation successful Ballari district, 1 of the States reporting precocious numbers of suicides, said Anish V. Cherian, main researcher of Project SURAKSHA, Lead of N-SPRITE and Additional Professor successful the Department of Psychiatric Social Work astatine NIMHANS.
He said the enlargement marked an important measurement successful bridging probe and community-based intelligence healthcare.
In 32 gram panchayats
According to the task study released connected Wednesday, the aviator programme operated crossed 32 gram panchayats successful Channapatna taluk and focused connected surveillance, situation intervention, consciousness procreation and regularisation of entree to lethal means.
A large constituent of the programme progressive mounting up community-based surveillance teams comprising panchayat representatives, teachers, healthcare workers, self-help radical members and frontline unit trained to place susceptible individuals and supply referrals.
Dr. Cherian said 795 trained assemblage members conducted astir 300 stakeholder visits and reached much than 6,000 radical during the task period.
Suicide gatekeeper training
The programme besides conducted termination gatekeeper grooming sessions for 4,185 frontline workers, including constabulary personnel, anganwadi workers, PHC staff, occurrence and information officers, educators and students. Project SURAKSHA besides reached implicit 14,000 students successful schools and colleges done consciousness sessions.
Additionally, arsenic of February 2026, implicit 1.7 lakh individuals successful the taluk person been reached done the dissemination of IEC materials. The inaugural besides established self-harm registries crossed 69 hospitals and wellness centres to systematically grounds termination attempts and supply follow-up care. A full of 1,261 cases were recorded, the study stated.
No repetition attempts
Dr. Cherian said nary repetition termination attempts had been reported among individuals who received involution and follow-up enactment nether the programme.
As of February 2026, the project’s helpline received implicit 193 calls, including 33 situation calls requiring contiguous intervention.
Reducing stigma vital
NIMHANS manager Prabha S. Chandra said reducing stigma astir termination attempts and extending enactment to affected families was indispensable to prevention efforts.
“The request of the hr is to physique an ecosystem that supports persons who effort termination and prevents repetition attempts,” she said.
In the adjacent phase, trained intelligence wellness professionals volition behaviour location visits to supply intelligence archetypal assistance and grief counselling to families affected by suicide.
