Kathmandu, Feb. 27 -- LGBTQI+ young people in Nepal have been grappling with alarming levels of mental health challenges, a new report by Save the Children shows.

According to a recent report entitled "Healing the Rainbow; Bridging Mental Health Gaps for LGBTQI+ Children and Youth in Nepal and Bhutan," around 43 percent of LGBTQI+ children and youth in Nepal and nearly 77 percent in Bhutan reported experiencing anxiety or depression within the past two weeks.

Over two-thirds of LGBTQI+ youth in both countries have never accessed formal mental health services due to stigma, discrimination, and a lack of LGBTQI+-affirming care providers, as well as fears regarding privacy breaches. Transgender and non-binary youth in Nepal, in particular,...