FIVE females were yesterday hospitalised at Suddie Hospital on the Essequibo Coast after attempting to commit suicide, bringing the overall cases in Region Two to 11 for the year.This follows two acts of suicide committed over the weekend, claiming the lives of 23-year-old Akel Shurland of Adventure and 27-year-old Kaimwattie Persaud of Anna Regina.

Residents say that government needs to take a serious stand on the social issue, and place the matter on the front burner. Suggestions were made to have more professional counselling on the ground.

The five persons who attempted to kill themselves were identified as 15-year-old Ferana Mohamed of Anna Regina Squatting Area; 20-year-old Savita Sursattie of Golden Fleece Estate; 22-year-old Nelina Ramesh of La Belle Alliance; 24-year old Yosoda Munniram of Fairfield; and 28-year-old Sushelia Khemraj of Sans Souci, Wakenaam.

Reports indicate that three of these persons ingested Gramoxone, a non-selective herbicide that is used by millions of growers and is, after nearly 50 years, still one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. It is used in approximately 100 countries on more than 100 crops.

Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt has said he and a social worker visited all of the victims yesterday, and there seemed to be a great deal of social ills that needed to be addressed in the region.

Asked what might have been a contributory factor to those persons attempting suicide, the Chairman explained that 80 per cent of the region’s income came from the rice industry, and many farmers had been suffering financially, which has also affected their families, especially the younger population with a low tolerance level.

He said that, under his tenure, a working committee had been established to address suicide, and recommendations have been made to the Regional Executive Officer (REO) to put forward a proposal in the 2016 budget for allocations to be made to facilitate awareness and counselling sessions to address suicide, especially among parents of the young and vulnerable.

Ramdatt recommended that government should look at the root causes of suicide and the issues that spawn those causes, since suicide could only then be addressed with the aim of a solution.

President David Granger recently convened an emergency meeting with Public Health Minister Dr George Norton on the issue of addressing suicide. In attendance at that meeting were Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence; Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally; Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr Karen Cummings; Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous People’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe; and Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Dawn Hastings. The confab was held at the Ministry of the Presidency with a view to charting a course that addresses this scourge. Out of the meeting came a plan of action which will see non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious organisations and other civil society organisations working collaboratively with government on a centralised approach to suicide prevention.

President Granger has indicated that he intends to have a proactive approach to addressing this issue, and will be looking to implement a national programme that has measurable outcomes.

During the meeting, the President was also updated on implementation of Guyana’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy, launched by the Ministry of Public Health last September with a view to ramping up Government’s response to the ongoing problem. In addition, the President was provided with updates on work being done within the other subject Ministries.