According to the WHO 2017 Mental Health ATLAS, no mental health data had been compiled in a report for policy, planning or management purposes in the previous two years in Pakistan. 2 Estimates indicate that approximately 40% of the Pakistani population suffers from common mental disorders.3 Pakistanis have been in a state of post-traumatic stress because of the violence, religious extremism, terrorism, the Afghan war, and recently the floods. 90% of Pakistanis who suffer from some sort of mental disorder remain untreated. A 2007 study surveyed people in Pakistan’s Major cities Lahore, Quetta and Karachi, and found that 36% - 53.4% of respondents suffered from depression. In light of these alarming statistics,4 NCHR developed a report on mental health and malpractice in Pakistan. This was supported with an online campaign about the need to destigmatise conversations surrounding mental health. The campaign extended the conversation beyond mental health disorders to talk about general well-being and the role of therapy and various mental health practitioners in addressing different kinds of issues and concerns and reaffirming how mental health is as important as physical health. International Day of the Girl Child Thirty-two percent of primary school age girls are out of school in Pakistan, compared to 21 percent of boys. By grade six, 59 percent of girls are out of school, versus 49 percent of boys. Only 13 percent of girls are still in school by ninth grade. Both boys and girls are missing out on education in unacceptable numbers, but girls are worst affected. Pakistan can, and should, fix its school system. The government should invest more resources in education and use those resources to address gender disparities and to ensure that all children—boys and girls—have access to, and attend, high quality primary and secondary education. 2 Mental Health ATLAS 2017 Member State Profile Pakistan. https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/profiles-2017/en/#P 3 PBS NewsHour, “'A Curse from God' -- the Stigma of Mental Illness in Pakistan,” PBS (Public Broadcasting Service, June 17, 2015), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/curse-god-stigma-mental-illness-pakistan. 4 Amin Gadit and Gerry Mugford, “Prevalence of Depression among Households in Three Capital Cities of Pakistan: Need to Revise the Mental Health Policy,” PMC (U.S. National Library of Medicine, February 14, 2007), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/. 34