THE Ministry of Health wishes to announce its strategic partnership with the Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) for a walk to heighten awareness on the need for all to work towards helping to prevent suicides in Guyana.Executives of the IAC met with Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, and his team and presented their organisation’s initiative and explored the possibility of a meaningful collaboration.

A very receptive Minister Ramsaran lauded the effort and committed his Ministry and related staff.

The Minister noted the various efforts the Ministry of Health has undertaken over time to aid in the awareness of curbing suicide including the training of persons in this regard. Only recently a Mental Health Colloquium was held at which Sean Doorn, PhD, gave a presentation on recognising the early signs of mental health. Minister Ramsaran pointed out the need for all to be involved in these processes in providing assistance and counselling to those who seek help and those who display related tendencies.
He reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to working with organisations that have expressed an interest in dealing with social issues. The IAC in the past had demonstrated its willingness to lead and support any intervention regarding this issue and based on the magnitude of incidents, called for suicide to be declared a national priority. Further, the organisation pointed out that due to the high rate of suicide, a major international news network visited Guyana and produced a story highlighting this distressing trend.
The IAC believes that much more can be done and had called for meaningful collaboration among the Ministries of Human Services and Social Security, Health and Culture, Youth & Sport, to derive a plan of action which will lead to the provision of education through awareness and related counselling with the aim of reducing, and hopefully, eliminating incidents of suicides.
The walk will be held on Sunday, September 14, 2014, from 07:00 hrs starting from outside the Bank of Guyana building. It will proceed east along Church Street, north in Camp Street, west into Lamaha Street, north into High Street and ending at the Umana Yana where a poster display would be mounted. There, participants would be briefly addressed by Dr. Bhiro Harry, National Psychiatrist and Minister Ramsaran.
Both the Ministry of Health and the IAC would like to call on all Guyanese, Religious and Non-Governmental Organisations to support this initiative of walking to heighten awareness about the need to prevent suicide. All are invited.