Minister for Health, Medical and Family Welfare Satya Kumar Yadav has called upon families, educational institutions and healthcare workers to play an active role in preventing suicides, stressing that suicide prevention is not the responsibility of the government alone.In a statement issued on Wednesday, on the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, Mr. Yadav said every individual had a role to play in preventing suicides.Outlining the initiatives taken up by the department, the Minister said frontline healthcare workers, including auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) and accredited social health activists (ASHAs), had been trained to identify early warning signs of mental health issues among people.Awareness programmes were being conducted in educational institutions to educate students on suicide prevention and emphasise that seeking help for mental health issues was normal, he said.Between 2023 and 2025, 463 awareness programmes were conducted in schools and 308 in colleges across the State, reaching around 40,740 school students and 35,598 college students. Teachers were also sensitised to the early warning signs of mental stress. Similar programmes were conducted in juvenile homes and sub-jails, the Minister said.According to the statement, a special pilot programme focusing on counselling and mental health support implemented at IIIT-Nuzvid had yielded encouraging results.While two cases were reported in 2021, four in 2022 and one in 2023, no cases were reported in 2024 and 2025 or so far in 2026, the Minister said. Taking into account the positive results of the programme, the government had decided to implement similar pilot initiatives in other educational institutions located in isolated areas away from major cities, he said.The department has planned special programmes, including rallies and a ‘Start the Conversation’ photo campaign, on Thursday to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.(Those in need of support can contact Tele-MANAS on the toll-free number 14416 for counselling, crisis support, risk identification and referral for further medical care.) Published - September 09, 2026 08:10 pm IST