World Health Organisation (WHO) says one in every 100 dies by their own hand, noting that suicide remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
WHO, in its latest estimates, published on Thursday in “Suicide worldwide in 2019” revealed that every year, more people die as a result of suicide than HIV, malaria or breast cancer ̶ or war and homicide.
“In 2019, more than 700,000 people died by suicide: one in every 100 deaths, prompting WHO to produce new guidance to help countries improve suicide prevention and care.
“We cannot – and must not – ignore suicide,” said Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, adding that, “Each one is a tragedy.
“Our attention to suicide prevention is even more important now, after many months living with the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of the risk factors for suicide ̶ job loss, financial stress and social isolation – still very much present.
“The new guidance that WHO is releasing today provides a clear path for stepping up suicide prevention efforts,” he said.
The report stated that among young people aged 15-29, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death after road injury, tuberculosis and interpersonal violence.
“Rates vary, between countries, regions, and between males and females. More than twice as many males die due to suicide as females (12.6 per 100, 000 males compared with 5.4 per 100 000 females).
“Suicide rates among men are generally higher in high-income countries (16.5 per 100, 000); for females, the highest suicide rates are found in lower-middle-income countries (7.1 per 100, 000).
“Suicide rates in the WHO African (11.2 per 100, 000), European (10.5 per 100, 000) and South-East Asia (10.2 per 100, 000) regions were higher than the global average (9.0 per 100, 000) in 2019.
“The lowest suicide rate was in the Eastern Mediterranean region (6.4 per 100, 000),” it stated.