'Pursukoon Zindagi' (Peaceful Life) - Mental Health, IRD Pakistan

Updated Jun 04, 2020

'Pursukoon Zindagi' (Peaceful Life) - Mental Health, IRD Pakistan

Part of Interactive Research and Development

Aneeta Pasha

The Pursukoon Zindagi (PSZ) program aims to bridge the mental health delivery gap by increasing demand for services and building capacity for a task-shifting approach that utilizes community health workers to deliver mental health services in under-resourced settings.

The program, established in Karachi in 2004, has treated more than 100,000 individuals, and is expanding to serve a greater number of Karachi’s 20 million residents.

Treatment

Vulnerable Groups

Stage 5: Scaling

The PSZ lay counselling model is being scaled to integrate mental health services in 19 primary care centres in urban and rural Pakistan in partnership with 3 primary care networks. We aim to provide services to >90000 patients in this stage.

Focus Areas:

Mental Health, Primary Care, Workforce Development and 1 MoreSEE ALL

50,000

Lives Impacted to Date

180,000

Customers

Employees

$1,300,000

Funds Raised to Date

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Problem

Pakistan has among the highest rates of psychiatric morbidity in the world, with 66% of women reporting symptoms of depression, and 34% of the general population reporting both depression and anxiety (Mirza, 2004). Only 2 psychiatrists are available for every 100,000 people (WHO, 2009). Cultural attitudes and stigmatization is one of the biggest obstacles around mental health. The first step is therefore to recognize the issue and reach out for support.

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Solution

The innovation aims to bridge the mental health delivery gap by increasing demand for services and building capacity for a task-shifting approach that utilizes community health workers to deliver mental health services and awareness in under-resourced settings. Over 100 lay counselors have been trained to provide mental health care services including screening, counselling and referrals. The task-shifting model has been implemented in TB, antenatal, diabetes and primary care programs.