INDIA’S FIRST SUICIDE PREVENTION POLICY!

In India, more than one lakh lives are lost every year to suicide, and it is the top killer in the 15-19 years category. In the past three years, the suicide rate has increased from 10.2 to 11.3 per 1,00,000 population. The most common reasons for suicide include family problems and illnesses, which account for 34% and 18% of all suicide-related deaths.

The ministry of health and family welfare on 21st November 2022 announced a National Suicide Prevention Strategy, the first of its kind in the country, with time-bound action plans and multisectoral collaborations to achieve reduction in suicide mortality by 10% by 2030.

The strategy broadly seeks to establish effective surveillance mechanisms for suicide within the next three years, establish psychiatric outpatient departments that will provide suicide prevention services through the District Mental Health Programme in all district within the next five years, and integrate a mental well-being curriculum in all educational institutions within the next eight years.

It envisages developing guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicide, restricting of suicides, and restricting access to means of suicide. The stress is on developing community resilience and societal support for suicide prevention.

In a note, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said: “further efforts are now required to prevent suicide as a public health priority. Suicides impact all sections of the society and thus require concerted and collaborative efforts from individuals and the community at large.”

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