02/03/2026
It was incredible to see clinicians, academics, researchers, lived-experience advocates, and community-based organisations from across the world come together to discuss the urgent and rising challenge of su***de and suicidality.
With India now accounting for the highest number of su***des globally, and su***de becoming the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15–29 worldwide, the need for coordinated , effective and equitable approaches was emphasised by everyone. Each year, over 1 million young people reach out to crisis and child helplines—an indicator of both need and unmet support.
Key themes highlighted during the discussions included:
• The growing scale and complexity of su***de among adolescents and young adults despite measures taken in the last two decades.
• The urgent need for community-anchored, preventive and widespread approaches that go far beyond mental health practitioners.
•Strengthening capacity for frontline workers and mental health systems alongside MHP’s.
• Centring lived and caregiver experience in program and policy design
• Risk factors for su***de emphasized by Prof. Keith Hawton (University of Oxford): alcohol use, gambling, domestic violence and abuse, loneliness and isolation, and su***de bereavement
which are beyond mental illnesses.
It was a privilege for Neha Kirpal, Co-Founder, IMHA, and Dr. Kavita Arora, Founding Cohort, IMHA, to listen to the discussions and also engage in deep conversations with many of the speakers on shaping capacity-building programmes at IMHA.
A heartfelt thank you to Dr Soumitra Pathare, Dr Prabha Chandra, Dr Dinesh Bhugra, Dr Vikram Patel, Gregory Armstrong, Dr Vikas Arya, Dr. Helen Herrman, Dr. Thara, Dr Lakshmi as well as colleagues from Sneha, for your generous insights and spirit of collaboration.
Here’s to continuing conversations that centre compassion, evidence, and lived experience at the heart of su***de-prevention , intervention and postvention efforts in India.
