From Consultation to Commitment

The policy journey began with an inaugural meeting at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination (MNHSR&C).

The meeting brought together key stakeholders to discuss the current mental health landscape in Pakistan and identify the priority areas that should shape the development of the National Mental Health Policy.

These discussions established the initial areas of focus and provided the foundation for broader consultation across the country.

The identified priority areas were then presented at a National Consultation, bringing together stakeholders representing Pakistan's diverse provinces and regions. Participants joined from:

This stage of the journey took national priorities to provincial consultations with Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

These consultations provided an opportunity to examine the policy through provincial perspectives and realities, including differences in health systems, service delivery, resources, population needs and implementation contexts.

Feedback from each province fed into further refinement of the policy.

The culmination of this consultative journey will be the launch of Pakistan's National Mental Health Policy 2026–35 at the Pakistan Global Mental Health Summit 2026.

The launch will mark an important transition from policy development to implementation, providing a shared national framework for strengthening mental health systems and translating priorities into action.