By Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that suicide remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
According to WHO’s latest estimates published Monday titled: ‘Suicide worldwide in 2019’, the organization said that latest studies showed that more people die as a result of suicide than HIV, malaria or breast cancer ̶ or war and homicide.
In a statement issued on Monday by WHO, it said: “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.”
WHO said that among young people aged 15-29, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death after road injury, tuberculosis and interpersonal violence.
It explained that the rates vary, between countries, regions and between males and females.
WHO further said: “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).
Worried by the situation, the Director General of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “We cannot – and must not – ignore suicide.
“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.”
