Over 32 million in Pakistan have mental health conditions, ministry tells NA

The Ministry of National Health Services has told the National Assembly that more than 32 million people in Pakistan are living with mental health conditions. The figures were presented in the house and reported by Minute Mirror, Daily Pakistan and Urdu outlets.

According to Minute Mirror, the data comes from the Global Burden of Disease Study, which the ministry submitted. It puts the number of people affected at more than 32.04 million and points to a growing need for mental health services and qualified professionals.

Express News reported that the ministry's figures show mental health patients rose by 2.4 million between 2019 and 2023. Islamabad had around 300,000 people with mental health conditions as of 2023, according to Minute Mirror.

On staffing, the reports say Pakistan has 1,050 registered psychiatrists nationally. That is roughly one psychiatrist for every 245,400 people. Punjab has 406, Sindh 228, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 122 and Balochistan 44.

One Minute Mirror report gave a different staffing figure, saying the ministry's report counts only 470 active psychiatrists, a ratio of one doctor for every 542,553 people, for a population of 25.52 crore. The reports do not explain the difference between the two figures.

The ministry also presented figures on HIV. Express News reported that 3,900 children living with HIV were registered between January 2025 and June 2026. Sindh has the most at 1,915, followed by Punjab with 1,765, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 139, Balochistan with 46, Islamabad with 30, Azad Kashmir with 4 and Gilgit-Baltistan with 1.

Express News also reported ministry figures on hepatitis, citing WHO data: 9 million hepatitis C patients and over 3.86 million hepatitis B patients. It said 48,000 hepatitis-related deaths occur each year and over 88,000 new hepatitis C infections were recorded in 2024.