Google Launches ‘Umang Pakistan’ for Mental Health Support

News Desk

Islamabad:Pakistan Google search introduced ‘Umang Pakistan’ with the objective of offering helpline support during mental health crises.Google launched a suicide hotline box for Pakistan, and this feature enables users to connect quickly with a suicide helpline at the top of the search results page.

Anyone in Pakistan searching for suicide-related queries such as “suicide support” and “how can I commit suicide” will now be shown the ‘Umang Pakistan’s’ helpline, according to a news release issued by the concerned office on Thursday.

Recognized by the WHO, Umang is a mental health helpline that offers support to vulnerable Pakistanis who are ideating or planning suicide. This partnership between Umang and Google aimed to help tackle the rising issue of suicides in Pakistan.

According to WHO estimates, there are around 130k to 270k cases of attempted suicide in Pakistan each year. Meanwhile, search interest in mental health issues has been on the rise. Topics such as anxiety, depression, and suicide all peaked in the 2020–21 period in the country, according to Google Trends.

Regional Director Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka at Google, Farhan Qureshi, said: “As we see from trends, Pakistanis are looking for answers about their mental health. We understand that time is of the essence when searching for help, especially for those who may be facing suicidal thoughts. We hope that this feature aids vulnerable users in finding help in times of need.”

Mental health is the biggest unaddressed problem of our era, especially in a place like Pakistan, where more than 40% of the population is suffering from some degree of mental health issues. Regional Director Google Farhan

Founder and CEO of Umang Pakistan, Kinza Naeem, said, “Mental health is the biggest unaddressed problem of our era, especially in a place like Pakistan where more than 40 percent of the population is suffering from some degree of mental health issues. We are utterly grateful to Google for this timely partnership. I am certain that together we will be able to reach out to the maximum number of people in dire need of mental health support and break the taboo around it nationwide.”