𝐃𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐦𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐄𝐌𝐀 𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟐 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒.

The PEMA On the Royal Command of Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen, the Pema Center Secretariat, an agency to spearhead our national response for mental health, has been established.

The Secretariat aims to help build a society that promotes the mental health and well-being of all Bhutanese. 

It will support policies and develop programs to support mental health, foster multi-sectoral partnerships, engage communities, and establish a proactive service delivery network. It will also help introduce and improve treatments, therapy and rehabilitation services. 

The Secretariat has three core divisions, for Self-harm Prevention, Violence Prevention and Response, and Substance Use Prevention and Care. Their collective mandate is to make proactive and reliable mental health services accessible for all. The team’s first steps towards this include setting up channels through which those in need of services can seek help, and systems to support them as well as their families and caregivers