Designed specifically for college and university students, the app aims to tackle suicidal tendencies and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues among India’s youth.
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Speaking to India Today, Dr Nand Kumar, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS-Delhi, highlighted that the app is focused on screening, intervention, and post-intervention follow-up. "Never Alone" is web-based, highly secured, and available 24x7 via WhatsApp. Students will have both virtual and offline access to mental health and wellness consultations through the platform. He mentioned that ‘Never Alone’ allows for scientifically based AI-assisted mental health screening at a highly affordable cost of just 70 paise per student.
Institutes that are interested in making use of the facility can approach AIIMS Delhi. So far, AIIMS Delhi, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences in Delhi, and Galgotias University in Greater Noida have opted for the facility, according to The Hindu.
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Notably, all AIIMS institutions nationwide will receive the service free of charge, supported by the Global Centre of Integrative Health (GCIH), a not-for-profit venture mentored by AIIMS alumnus Dr. Deepak Chopra, a renowned expert in integrative health.
The launch of “Never Alone” comes at a critical time as suicide continues to be a significant public health challenge globally and in India. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that one person dies by suicide every 45 seconds worldwide, with 73% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
According to news reports, India recorded 1,70,924 suicide deaths in 2022, the highest in over five decades, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Young adults aged 18 to 30 accounted for 35% of suicides, followed closely by those aged 30 to 45 at 32%.
Dr. Kumar stressed that a public health approach to suicide prevention calls for a major change in how suicide and its prevention are understood, including the need to increase the number of trained mental health professionals.
He explained that although suicide is frequently associated with mental health conditions like depression and alcohol use disorders, many suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis, such as financial difficulties, relationship problems, or chronic illnesses.
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Despite the availability of mental health professionals, particularly in medical institutions, Dr. Kumar pointed out a troubling trend: "It's well established that 70 to 80 per cent of people suffering from mental health issues don't seek treatment. One of the important reasons for the treatment gap is unawareness and stigma. This is reflected in frequent incidents of suicide in medical colleges where psychiatrists and psychologists are available, " reports India Today.
The “Never Alone” app aims to bridge this gap by providing a secure, affordable, and stigma-free platform for India’s youth to seek mental health support — a timely and much-needed step toward reducing student suicides and improving overall mental wellness.
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