HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s National Health Commission said it will address gaps in its mental health services from 2025 to 2027 as authorities try to tackle a growing number of mental health problems, particularly among children and adolescents.
China will set up a mental health hotline, establish regional mental health centers across the country and “actively develop key clinical specialties” in mental health, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The announcement comes as mental health issues have come to the fore in China following several violent incidents in 2024, including a string of stabbings and two separate cases of cars being rammed into crowds.
Outpatient services for mental and sleep disorders should be available in at least one hospital in every prefecture and city nationwide by 2025, the NHC said.
The World Health Organization estimates that 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 about 2%, the official Xinhua news agency reported this week, citing Xie Bin, the Communist Party head of the Shanghai Mental Health Center.
More than 95% of Chinese schools are expected to have full-time or part-time mental health education instructors this year, according to a three-year national action plan launched in 2023.
As China’s economy slows, employment opportunities are increasingly precarious and fewer people are finding work due to China’s long-term economic growth. The consequences of such economic pressures on mental health are increasing, experts say.
Official crime statistics in China show that violent crime rates are much lower than world averages.
