This unit has been set up to help establish an institutional framework and launch a coordinated effort to mainstream mental health as a national priority as envision in the National Economic Transformational Plan.









Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) service model is a digital, rights-based and scalable solution to address the critical gaps in existing mental healthcare and scale up MHPSS services in Pakistan. It aims to strengthen the existing mental healthcare system by utilizing evidence-based resources to build the capacity of a mental health workforce outside tertiary care hospitals; supervise this workforce to provide MHPSS services; establish a referral pathway; and collect relevant data.

July 10, 2026
As part of the MHPSS pilot implementation in Kohat & Haripur, and in collaboration with the DGHS Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 76 doctors were trained in mhGAP-HIG in October 2025. They were supervised for a period of eight months. The trained doctors assessed and managed people with common mental disorders in their routine practice and were connected through the MHPSS web portal via mhGAP-HIG-PK mobile application, where they reported 627 cases and sought specialists’ supervision on 122 cases
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July 2, 2026
The fourth National MHPSS Coordination Meeting was held in Peshawar on 29th June 2026, chaired by Mr. Khaliq ur Rehman, Provincial Minister for Health, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives presented the report on the pilot implementation of MHPSS services in Haripur and Kohat, with stakeholders reaffirming commitment to strengthen evidence-based MHPSS services and develop sustainable plans to roll out the model to other districts.
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July 1, 2026
The MHSP&C Unit at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives participated in a webinar on intersectoral coordination for uniform and standardized MHPSS services, jointly organized by NICD and the SSARC Project on 23 June 2026. The Unit presented the evidence-based digital MHPSS model and insights from pilot implementation in Haripur and Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to over seventy international stakeholders. The exchange reinforced the importance of intersectoral collaboration, digital innovation, and evidence-informed implementation in scaling up integrated MHPSS services across Pakistan.
Read moreComprehensive evidence-based printed and digital resources have been developed for MHPSS services in Pakistan. Through robust methodological frameworks, well-established international guidelines were contextualized, adapted and translated to achieve the objectives of MHPSS service.



Mental Health Strategic Planning & Coordination Unit Health Section Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives