With World Mental Health Day round the corner, to be precise on October 10, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is all set to launch "40 seconds of action" campaign to raise awareness of the scale of suicide around the globe and the role that each of us can play to help prevent it. The campaign is based on the observation that every 40 seconds, someone loses their life to suicide.
Globally, close to 800 000 people die by suicide every year. Furthermore, for each suicide, there are more than 20 suicide attempts. Suicides and suicide attempts have a ripple effect that impacts on families, friends, colleagues, communities and societies, as per the WHO statement issued recently.Stating that suicides are preventable, the WHO notes that much can be done to prevent suicide at individual, community and national levels.
"Much can be done to prevent suicide," said an official from the WHO.
The global health agency has recommended four key interventions which have proven to be effective. These are restricting access to means, helping young people develop skills to cope with life's pressures, early identification and management of people who are thinking about suicide or who have made a suicide attempt, keeping follow-up contact in the short and longer-term.
The WHO is also working with the media to ensure responsible reporting of suicide.
Collectively, WHO's approach to suicide prevention is known as LIVE LIFE (leadership, interventions, vision and evaluation). This approach is the basis on which comprehensive national suicide prevention strategies should be developed, said the official.