Strengthening Community Mental Health Peer Support Through Funding and Training, and Tracking Referral Pathways into Formal Mental Health Services

19 Dr Wan Rizal asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) how many trained peer support specialists are currently active in community mental health settings; (b) what funding and training frameworks govern peer support programmes outside clinical settings; and (c) whether the Ministry tracks referral rates from peer support into formal mental health services.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: As of December 2025, more than 160 peer support specialists have been trained in the Peer Support Specialist Programme run by the National Council of Social Service.

The Health Promotion Board also trains individuals from Institutes of Higher Learning and workplaces to be mental health peer supporters. More than 33,000 individuals have been trained as of December 2025.

Both programmes are funded by the respective agencies and aligned to the National Mental Health Competency Training Framework. The Ministry neither tracks the number of peer supporters who are active in community mental health settings nor the referral rates from peer support programmes into formal mental health services.