Guyana Forms Mental Health Ministry to Fight Suicide
Published 22 September 2014, Source - Telesurtv
Guyana has announced plans to launch a Mental Health Council to address the country's high suicide rate, which was recently reported to be the highest in the world. The plan was announced by Minister of Health Bheri Ramsaran on Sunday, when he revealed that the council will comprise of members from various recognized religious communities and other stakeholders.
In September, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an in depth report about global suicides in which they found that Guyana has the highest suicide rate in the world. The highest rates appear among those who are 70 years of age and older.
The WHO report – titled "Preventing Suicide a Global Imperative" – also found that worldwide over 800,000 people die from suicide each year, which is approximately one death every 40 seconds. About 75 percent of those happen in low and middle income countries.
However, these numbers are likely under-reported, according to the WHO – it is stigmatized in many communities, is considered a sin in some religions and is illegal in many countries, so it is often misclassified as an accident or other cause of death.
Stigma also exists worldwide for both people with mental health problems and against those who seek help for suicidal behavior. This decreases people's access to help, or willing to seek it out, and increases vulnerability to suicidal behavior.
Executive member of the Indian Arrival Committee (IAC), Neaz Subhan, said Guyana's world suicide standing is nothing to be proud of. The IAC has long-ago called on suicide prevention to be a national priority.
“All of us, community groups, religious groups, non-governmental organizations or others, we need to ensure that we do our part, that we can be able to say that, in a very short time Guyana is not the suicide capital of the world. We must be able to work towards that,” said Subhan.
As part of Guyana's new initiatives to tackle the high suicide rate in the country, over 200 nurses, and some 150 persons from the Health Ministry, Guyana Police Force, Prison Service and the Social Services Ministry have already received specialist training from mental health professionals to address those who need assistance to cope with issues that may lead to suicide.
The Pan American Health Organization also called to reduce the access to the commonly used pesticides in the country, which are used by many to commit suicide. Initiatives with the Education Ministry may also be sought to offer mental health and suicide awareness to high risk groups.
Source - http://www.telesurtv.net/engli...e-20140922-0076.html
