THE welcome news could not have come on a more appropriate day. On October 10, World Mental Health Day, this newspaper reported that the suicide rate in Guyana had plummeted from 42.2 per cent per 100,000 in 2012, to a low of 24.6 per cent. It was reported too, that government is making the progressive move to decriminalise attempted suicide.

Suicide – the act of intentionally causing one’s own death – has long been a huge problem in Guyana. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, between 2010 and 2012, there were 667 reported suicide attempts, resulting in an average of 200 deaths per year. The WHO had reported too that in 2012, political neglect of the problem was a major contributing factor.

In 2001, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had already come to the same conclusion. The IMF had also reported that poor governance [under the PPP regime] had resulted in widespread, extreme poverty, a major cause of the high rate of suicides.

A 2003 report by the World Bank supported that finding, stating that the political process in Guyana is often fought with so much time and energy that “little [is] left to undertake the many policies necessary to facilitate growth and development.”

Under those adverse political conditions, Guyana had become known internationally as the suicide capital of the world, with 3.2 male suicides for each female death.
Fortunately, in 2015, the people elected a new government. The APNU+AFC coalition, recognising mental health as an intrinsic aspect of general well-being, immediately began the implementation of the National Mental Health Action Plan for 2015–2020 and a national suicide-prevention plan.

That plan, which is obviously bearing fruit, simultaneously launched awareness campaigns; implemented education programmes aimed at reducing the stigma associated with mental illness; initiated massive training programmes for health professionals; introduced substance abuse counselling services; and set up access-points to care for at-risk patients, among other initiatives. To date, the programme continues to be actualised.

Presently, hotlines are available; there are walk-in centres for mental health care at all public hospitals, counsellors are available, and there is now a dedicated Mental Health Unit at the Ministry of Public Health. The positive results of those actions by the administration have been nothing short of dramatic. “We see that two things are happening: persons are more aware and they also are more aware that help is available,” said Dr. Balogun Osunbiyi, senior psychologist at the Mental Health Unit within the Ministry of Public Health. Dr. Osunbiyi said too, “[that] that while there has been an increase in persons calling [the hotlines], fewer persons are calling with the intention of committing suicide.” This fact may indicate that persons are seeking help which is now known to be available.

While the dramatic decrease in the rate of suicide is impressive, government is aware that much work must still be done. With this in mind, the initiatives already implemented are being continuously evaluated and adjusted or updated as needed. And new, improved, wider-reaching programmes are constantly being introduced. For example, in collaboration with a team from the United Kingdom (UK), almost 40 local health practitioners will be trained in management of mental illnesses; and before the end of November, some 50 health care workers in Regions Two and Six will be trained in the mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). This is part of a goal of having 300 trained personnel before the end of 2018. Other programmes are also underway.

As government continues to work, partnerships with local non-governmental organisations, faith-based organisations, and international bodies such as the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), and academic entities, will continue and be expanded. While Guyanese should be encouraged by the tangible progress being made on all fronts – medical, social, and legal – we must remain ever vigilant that we keep the gains that we have made, even as we work towards the goal of zero deaths due to suicide.