Innovative approaches to mental health care in Pakistan: perspectives from a nonprofit organization

Purpose Pakistan faces a high burden of mental illness, yet mental health care remains underprioritized. This paper aims to examine key challenges within Pakistan’s mental health-care system, such as inadequate infrastructure, stigma and limited access to mental health care. It highlights how a nonprofit organization addresses these issues using a multifaceted approach. Design/methodology/approach This perspective explores a comprehensive strategy that includes public awareness campaigns to reduce stigma, telephonic mental health services to enhance accessibility to mental health care and advocacy efforts to promote systemic change. Findings The integration of these approaches has the potential to improve mental health awareness, increase accessibility through a national helpline and develop community programs offering both digital and in-person support. These efforts demonstrate the promise of synchronous interventions to address mental health challenges effectively. Originality/value This paper provides a unique perspective on addressing mental health challenges in low-resource settings like Pakistan. It emphasizes the synergy of combining awareness, direct mental health support and advocacy efforts to create a scalable and sustainable mental health ecosystem while highlighting lessons applicable to other low-resource settings globally.