WHO and Lions Clubs Partner to Expand Mental Health Care in Jordan and Nepal Over Three Years

On 14 August 2026, the World Health Organization and the Lions Clubs International Foundation announced a three-year agreement to bring mental health care to more people in two countries: Jordan and Nepal. The work falls under the WHO Special Initiative for Mental Health, and it is meant to reach people living with mental, neurological and substance use conditions.

The scale of need is the backdrop. More than 1 billion people worldwide live with a mental health condition, and in many countries getting care is extremely difficult. Dr Mark van Ommeren, who heads WHO's Mental Health and Substance Use Unit, said the treatment gap can exceed 95% in some countries. He called the joint effort with the Lions a good example of collaborating toward common goals.

The Lions come to this with a large footprint. The foundation supports the 1.4 million members of Lions Clubs International and was founded in 1968. Since then it has awarded more than 25,000 grants totaling more than US$ 1.3 billion. The wider organization has named mental health as one of its global initiatives. A.P Singh, the foundation's chairperson, said he was proud to see Lions helping reduce stigma, raise awareness and expand access to care in communities around the world. WHO describes the partnership as a chance to raise awareness, encourage people to seek help, and draw on the global and local influence of both organizations.

In Jordan, the focus is East Amman. The partnership will set up counselling services together with the Friends of Cancer Patients Association. It will also provide acute secondary care for children and adults at Al Basheer Hospital.

In Nepal, the plan has two parts. Psychosocial support mental health corners will be established in 10 district hospitals. The partnership will also work on young people's mental health by putting into practice the National Implementation Framework on School Mental Health, which the Nepali government has endorsed.

The Special Initiative itself is not new. Since 2019 it has worked to scale up community-based mental health care and to advance national policies, plans and laws that protect people with these conditions, including making mental health part of universal health coverage. WHO says it has expanded care across ten countries, giving more than 90 million additional people access to community-based services, and that at least 2 million children and adults have been treated for such conditions for the first time. Jordan and Nepal are among the countries that have adopted rights-based mental health policies, updated essential medicine lists, improved mental health data systems and built mental health into emergency preparedness plans. They continue to press for more domestic investment to sustain the gains.

The release also carries the voice of one person the initiative has touched. Malak Nowfal, a 28-year-old housewife and carer in Jordan and the wife of Fouad, said the programme helped not only those with mental health conditions but also the people who support them. She said it gave her the sense that there was finally a space in society for them, and that she and Fouad both began to feel seen and empowered. She added that she believes mental health matters as much as physical health.

The partnership runs until the end of 2028, and it will document service users' stories and experiences along the way. That record should show whether the counselling services, hospital care and school programmes take hold in the communities they target.