China Health Commission to narrow gaps in mental health services

Hong Kong: China's National Health Commission said that it would address gaps in its mental health services from 2025 to 2027 as authorities try to deal with an increasing number of mental health issues, particularly amongst children and adolescents.

China will set up a mental health hotline, establish regional mental health centres throughout the country and "actively develop key clinical specialities" in mental health, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The announcement comes as mental health issues have sprung to the forefront in China after several violent incidents in 2024, including a series of stabbing cases and two separate cases of cars ramming into crowds.

Outpatient services for mental and sleep disorders should be available at a minimum of at least one hospital in each prefecture and city nationwide by 2025, the NHC said.

The World Health Organisation estimates 54 million people in China suffer from depression, and about 41 million suffer from anxiety disorders, out of a population of 1.4 billion.

The prevalence of depression among adolescents is around 2%, the official news agency Xinhua reported this week, citing Xie Bin, the Communist Party chief of the Shanghai Mental Health Center.

More than 95% of China's schools are expected to have a full-time or part-time instructor for mental health education this year, according to a three-year national action plan launched in 2023.

As China's economy slows, employment opportunities are more precarious and fewer people are being lifted up by China's long-running economic growth. The repercussions on mental health from such economic pressures are growing, experts say.

China's official crime statistics show that its rates of violent crime are much lower than global averages.

(Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)