18 suicides a day: Nepal’s overlooked public health crisis

Recently, the country watched Ganesh Nepali die. A 25-year-old ride-hailing driver, carrying debt, supporting a family, preparing for foreign employment, fined Rs 1,000 over a wheel-locked motorcycle. He died at Bir Hospital a day after setting himself on fire outside the passport office. Since then, the argument has been about accountability: the municipal police, the metropolitan city, the Home Ministry. That argument matters and should continue.

But I keep sitting with a different question. How many people reach that same point in this country without a camera nearby? By police count, about 18 a day. Last fiscal year, 6,866 Nepalis died by suicide. The number was down slightly from the year before, and I have seen that reported as good news. Eighteen families a day is not good news.