Owing to the constant stress attached to life, individuals that lack the mental or psychological strength to cope with the challenges that come with life daily might end up getting depressed, which can lead to depression. The second responsible factor for death of youth aged 15-29 after road accident is suicide.
One person still dies every 40 seconds from suicide. Governments of various countries especially low-income nations need to be more committed and establish strategies towards preventing suicide. Unfortunately, suicide is part of the top 20 leading causes of death globally, it accounts for over 800,000 deaths every year.
To counter or fight suicide occurrences, the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) mapped out September 10 as World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD).
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD)
The World Suicide Prevention Day is an awareness day which is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention, and is co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). It is annually observed and accompanied with a theme. September 10, 2003, marked the first celebration of events marking the WSPD.
Part of the major aims for the day includes ensuring worldwide commitment and action towards preventing suicide in every corner of the globe. In 2011, 40 countries held awareness activities to mark the annual observation, and by 2014, roughly 10% of lower-middle income nations alongside a third of upper-middle and high-income nations had a well-defined strategy of confronting and avoiding suicide cases.
During its first celebration in 2003, the WHO’s world suicide prevention initiative was pronounced the major strategy of implementing the plans of IASP and its partners towards preventing suicide globally. The WHO strategy requires:
- The organisation of global, regional and national multi-sectoral activities to increase awareness about suicidal behaviours and how to effectively prevent them.
- The strengthening of countries’ capabilities to develop and evaluate national policies and plans for suicide prevention.
World Suicide Prevention Day 2019
The theme for this year’s WSPD is ‘Working Together to Prevent Suicide.’ This year’s theme effectively highlights the most important global strategy to effectively prevent suicide in countries which is collaboration. Without a doubt, if every region or countries of the world collaborates or unites in the fight against suicide, significant successes will be recorded.
Despite progress, one person still dies every 40 seconds from suicide…Every death is a tragedy for family, friends and colleagues. Yet suicides are preventable. We call on all countries to incorporate proven suicide prevention strategies into national health and education programmes in a sustainable way.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Director-General of the WHO)
Sources:
Iasp
Wikipedia
Who.int
Wspd
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