Latest update September 12th, 2026 10:20 AM
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Suicide prevention
(Kaieteur News) – World Suicide Prevention Day 2026 was observed on Thursday under the theme “Creating Hope Through Action.” For Guyana, however, hope cannot remain a slogan repeated once a year. It must translate into deliberate, sustained and measurable action to prevent the needless loss of lives.
The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has warned that suicide remains a major public health challenge across the Americas and requires sustained action. Too many families and communities throughout the Region continue to suffer the devastating consequences of preventable deaths. The organisation has rightly argued that combating this scourge is possible when suicide prevention is prioritised, health systems are strengthened, data are improved, and governments and other sectors coordinate their responses.
Guyana has particular reason to take that warning seriously.
Back in May, this newspaper reported on a disturbing study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, which found that Guyana still has the highest suicide mortality rate among adolescents and young adults in the entire hemisphere.
Between 2000 and 2021, Guyana recorded a suicide rate of 21.8 deaths per 100,000 population among young people aged 10–24. That is nearly three times the regional average of 7.84 per 100,000.
Even more disturbing is what suicide represents in the overall pattern of premature deaths among Guyanese youth. The report states that while interpersonal violence and road injuries are the leading killers of young people across the Americas, suicide is the leading cause of death among young people in Guyana.
Behind every number is a young person whose life ended prematurely, and behind every such death are families left to confront grief, unanswered questions and, too often, the haunting realisation that more might have been done.
The study also exposes something uniquely troubling about Guyana: the means by which many young people take their own lives.
Across the Americas, hanging accounts for 58.4% of youth suicide deaths, making it the most common method regionally. Guyana, however, deviates sharply from that pattern. Pesticide poisoning accounts for 64.2% of youth suicides in Guyana—the highest proportion of pesticide-related suicide deaths among all 35 countries studied.
The report attributes this disturbing pattern to a specific “contextual influence”: the easy availability and access to toxic substances.
That finding demands more than sympathy. It demands policy.
If access to highly toxic pesticides is contributing significantly to suicide deaths, then means restriction must become a central pillar of Guyana’s prevention strategy. This does not mean waiting until another tragedy occurs. It means examining how these chemicals are sold, stored, distributed and accessed, particularly in vulnerable communities, while ensuring that legitimate agricultural needs are protected.
Yet amid the grim statistics, the study offers Guyana a small but important reason for hope.
Guyana was the only country identified as having a suicide rate significantly above the regional average while simultaneously showing a declining temporal trend. While countries such as Paraguay, the United States and Uruguay have experienced increases in youth suicide rates, Guyana’s average annual percentage change (AAPC) has moved in a negative direction since 2000.
Guyana remains a high-priority area for suicide prevention. “Creating Hope Through Action” means moving beyond speeches, observances and awareness campaigns. It means better mental health services, stronger community support, improved data collection, early intervention and serious attention to the availability of lethal means.
Most importantly, it means recognising that suicide prevention is not the responsibility of the health sector alone. Families, schools, churches, communities, policymakers, agricultural agencies and civil society all have roles to play.
Guyana has already been given the evidence. It knows where the danger lies.
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