BENGALURU: Community ownership, early intervention and strong local support systems played a major role in the success of Project SURAKSHA, the community-based suicide prevention initiative launched by NIMHANS in Ramanagara district, said Dr Aneesh V Cherian, an additional professor at NIMHANS and the principal investigator of the project.
Speaking after the release of the project’s three-year impact report on Wednesday, Dr Cherian said the initiative succeeded because it involved multiple sections of society rather than functioning only as a hospital-led programme.
“This was not just a project run by one institution. ASHA and Anganwadi workers, police personnel, mediapersons, elected representatives, healthcare staff and community leaders all came together for one cause,” he said.
Project SURAKSHA, launched in 2023 in Channapattana taluk, is India’s first sustained community-based suicide prevention programme. Implemented in collaboration with the Karnataka government and Himalaya Wellness Company, the initiative is now being expanded to all five taluks of Ramanagara district, while Phase I implementation has also received approval in Ballari district.
Dr Cherian said the programme focused on identifying vulnerable individuals within the community and ensuring that support reached them at the earliest stage possible. During the past three years, around 1,600 cases were identified through hospitals, police stations and community networks. He said the project managed to reduce suicide re-attempts among those who received intervention “almost to zero.”
The initiative functions through community surveillance teams across gram panchayats, where trained volunteers and frontline workers act as gatekeepers to identify vulnerable people. Schools, colleges, primary health centres and district hospitals have also been integrated into the programme, Dr Cherian said.
Stigma surrounding mental health and suicide was one of the biggest challenges during the initial phase of implementation, Dr Cherian said. “People were reluctant to openly discuss their struggles or experiences. But over time, awareness campaigns, helplines and community engagement helped build trust,” he said.
Dr Cherian said that people below 40 years formed the largest vulnerable group identified under the project, with interpersonal and family conflicts emerging as major contributing factors.
KG Umesh, the director of human resources at Himalaya Wellness Company, said the outcomes of Project SURAKSHA showed that suicide prevention becomes more effective when communities actively participate in identifying and supporting vulnerable individuals before crises escalate.
The initiative created local support systems involving ASHA workers, teachers, panchayat members, frontline staff and volunteers trained to identify warning signs and connect people with professional help, Umesh said. The collaboration between NIMHANS, the Karnataka government and Himalaya Wellness also demonstrated how public-private partnerships could build sustainable mental health frameworks that can be replicated across other districts and states in India, he said.
