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Nat’l Suicide Strategy launched
…must be more than a plan, says Health Minister
By Desilon Daniels
The Ministry of Public Health yesterday launched its 2015-2020 National Suicide Prevention Strategy. With its launch, Minister George Norton has expressed hope that the document will become more than just another plan with no action.
Minister of Public Health, Dr Norton expressed pleasure and motivation at being a part of the launch of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy.
“We provide a national overview of suicide behaviour in Guyana and endeavour to implement a national strategy to catalyze preventative action across the country,” he said.
However, he said, launching a plan is not enough.
“Hardcopies of plans are nothing else but hardcopies; we have a suicide prevention plan for 2015 to 2020 and I can assure you that – with the meetings I had with all those who are integrally involved in the actual planning and the execution of this plan – I am confident to say that this plan will become a reality.”
He added that according to the World Health Organization, more than 800,000 people die annually from suicide. However, he added, the estimate is expected to be much higher due to underreporting.
“In Guyana over the years we have experienced alarming high figures in suicide and suicide attempt cases, taking our beautiful country to the top of the list of countries with the highest suicide rates.”
Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, brandishes the new national suicide plan
A section of the audience during the launch
He said that this not only affected persons directly connected to the situation but the country at large.
“Suicide prevention is everybody’s business. It’s very important that leaders and members of all organizations, ministries, institutions, non -governmental organizations, communities and the entire population are involved in awareness action and develop activities leading to improve the present situation about suicidal behavior,” he said.
He said, too, that support from friends and family is a necessity.
Norton said that the plan is ready to be launched. It includes plans for multi-sectoral approach and includes the encouragement of community participation with an interest in suicide prevention to mobilize resources in an effort to save lives.
“Today, the Ministry of Public Health is grateful that the National Suicide Prevention Plan will provide the necessary tools and guidance to develop not only prevention strategies but create opportunities for collaboration with other agencies to assist persons affected by this problem and to facilitate their complete recovery,” Norton said.
“Let’s work together to reduce the incidence of suicide mortality and attempted suicide by 20 percent,” he urged.
And the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) pledged its support to the Ministry.
PAHO representative, William Adu-Krow, noted that it was only in 2012 that Suriname was ranked as the country with the highest rate of suicide in the world. However, he said, in just two years that title was given to Guyana. “We need to do better,” he emphasised.
He said that while Guyana’s situation is bad, there is still hope for the country. After sharing trends and statistics related to Guyana and other countries in relation to suicide, he said that a turnaround could best be achieved by analyzing the current data.
“We have to find what is happening; it’s a complex issue and it’s not something we can look at lightly.”
He added that suicide is complex and needs to be tackled from all issues, including the law, and with expediency. “Don’t let us wait ten years from now and another group asks where we are getting to in Guyana with suicide,” he said.
The United States Embassy threw its support behind the Ministry of Public Health and, through its representative, emphasized that suicide was an issue that needed to be tackled immediately.
The representative further said that the plan should have considerations of marginal groups such as members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.
The National Suicide Prevention Strategy is one that activists believe is long overdue.
It is no secret that Guyana has the highest rate of suicide in the world; while the global average rate is 16.0 per 100,000 persons, Guyana’s rate as of 2014 is 44.2 of 100,000.
Activists had opined that not enough efforts were being made by the Government of Guyana in tackling this epidemic.
The plan was launched as Guyana joined the rest of the world in observing World Suicide Prevention Day 2015 under the theme “Preventing Suicide: Reaching Out and Saving Lives”.
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