AWARENESS and sensitisation about mental health are critical in fighting suicide, Minister within the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Dr. Karen Cummings, has said.

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle at a concert held at the Seawall Bandstand, Kingston, Geogetown, in observance of World Suicide Prevention Day held under the theme, “Take a minute, change a life,” the minister said suicide is everybody’s business.
“It takes many sectors to come together to stamp out an issue and suicide is an issue,” she said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2012 reported that Guyana with a suicide rate of 44.2 deaths per every 100,000 persons had the highest suicide rate in the world.
This figure in 2015 dropped to 30.6 deaths per every 100,000 persons.
“We definitely want to reduce where we are on the [global suicide rates’] list; in fact, we want to come off of that list entirely,” she stressed and related that strengthening local awareness through campaigns has been the strategy used to tackle the issue.
And the recently established Mental Health Unit has been vital in this regard, the minister said.
But Mental Health Unit officer Tashia James, said more staff are needed for the unit to function optimally.

She explained that there are few officers like her who are directly responsible for awareness and sensitization, but there are a host of social workers and psychologists who strive to assist persons suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts.
Raising awareness has not only been done to reduce stigma, but also to educate persons on how to identify signs of depression in others.
With the global suicide rates, according to the WHO, reaching more than 800,000 people and more than 25 times that amount (or 20,000,000 people) attempting suicide, there is definitely need for a greater focus on mental health.
The Indian Action Committee (IAC) also held a suicide-prevention day exercise at the Better Hope Community Centre ground, East Coast Demerara (ECD), in recognition of World Suicide Prevention Day, 2017.

Speakers from the Ministry of Public Health and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) spoke extensively on the subject as a small gathering listened attentively.