National Suicide Prevention week 2024

This week is National Suicide Prevention Week and today, 10 September, is World Suicide Prevention Day.

In an article published in The Lancet, published in 2022 and based on 2019 data, we see that there is much work to be done in the area of Suicide Prevention in Guyana. Namely that, “…the suicide rate has not substantially improved in recent times (see Figure below). In 2019, Guyana's age standardised suicide rate was estimated as 40·9 per 100,000, the highest rate for the country in nearly two decades and the second highest suicide rate in the world. 1“ [1 Suicide worldwide in 2019: global health estimates. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2021]

However, more recently, Guyana has made some progress in suicide prevention. In November 2022, the Suicide Prevention Act was enacted, decriminalizing suicide and marking a step towards enhancing mental health care. In addition, the Ministry of Health (MoH) launched the National Mental Health Action Plan & Suicide Prevention Plan 2024 – 2030, in April 2024. Moreover, the MoH is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture to enhance the safe storage of pesticides and phase out hazardous chemicals, in an effort to reduce suicide risks associated with pesticide ingestion.

#SuicidePreventioninGuyana #WorldSuicidePreventionDay #MentalHealth
#PreventPesticideIngestion #IndoGuyaneseSuicidePrevention