AIIMS LAUNCHES AI BASED APP “NEVER ALONE” FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH OF STUDENTS

New Delhi, Sep 11, 2025 : With an aim to reduce the stigma associated with suicide and increase awareness among students, AIIMS, New Delhi on Wednesday launched an AI-based holistic mental health and wellness program called “Never Alone”. The program was launched on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day.

Dr Nand Kumar, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS, New Delhi, informed that the program focuses on screening, intervention and post-intervention follow-up for students of colleges and universities.

The program was launched simultaneously in collaboration with faculty and administration at AIIMS New Delhi, AIIMS Bhubaneswar and IHBAS (Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences), Shahdara.

According to Dr Kumar, “Never Alone” is a web-based secure app that can be accessed through WhatsApp. It will provide students with 24x7 virtual and offline consultation from mental health and wellness experts.

AIIMS Delhi will make this service available to all AIIMS institutes through the Global Centre of Integrative Health (GCIH) without any financial burden. This initiative is supported and guided by Dr Deepak Chopra, a world-renowned author and integrative health expert and alumnus of AIIMS Delhi.

Dr Kumar said that the cost of basic mental health screening on the “Never Alone” app is minimal—only 70 paise per day per student. This service is easily affordable even for an institution with 5,000 students.

To make students avail this facility, the concerned institutions have to contact AIIMS Delhi and subscribe to this service.

Suicide: A serious public health challenge:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 7.27 lakh people commit suicide every year, that is, on an average, one person takes his own life every 45 seconds. About 73% of these suicides occur in low and middle income countries.

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data in India shows that 1,70,924 people committed suicide in the year 2022, which is the highest number in the last 56 years. Of these, the share of youth in the age group of 18-30 years was 35%, while in the age group of 30-45 years it was 32%.

Dr. Kumar said that suicide can be prevented, but for this it is necessary to adopt a public health approach. He told that suicide is closely linked with mental diseases - especially depression and alcohol addiction. Many times people take this step even in times of sudden crisis.

He said that "70-80 percent of people suffering from mental health problems do not seek treatment. Lack of awareness and social stigma are the major reasons for this difference. Even in medical colleges where specialists are available, cases of suicide keep coming up."

This news gives an important message to students, parents and institutions that suicide can be prevented and lives can be saved with timely counseling and awareness.