2021 Data: 86 Persons Committed Suicide and 902 Attempted to Commit
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Loading... - Sarah Kwaka
- 14 Sep 2022
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The number of people who committed suicide in 2021 increased to 86 from the 69 recorded in 2020.
This is according to Data from the Ghana Mental Health Authority (MHA).
Also, attempted suicides also rose to 902 as at the end of 2021.
There were 777 attempted suicides in 2020
This is 125 more than the 777 attempted suicides recorded in 2020.
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797 attempted suicides in in 2018 and 880 cases in 2019
In 2018, suicide attempts in Ghana were 797 and rose to 880 in 2019 before dropping marginally to 777 in 2020.
Professor Akwasi Osei, the Chief Executive of Mental Health Authority, pointed out that many cases of suicide and attempted suicide are not reported due to fear of being stigmatised and fear of community repercussions.
According to him, someone dies of suicide every 40 seconds, citing global statistics which shows that someone dies of suicide every 40 seconds saying it must be a thing of the past.
According to him, awareness creation and education programmes about suicide have become more critical now than ever since more people are now being driven to choose suicide when they encountered personal issues.
He called for proactive action and measures by all stakeholders to prevent the incidence of suicides and manage suicide behaviours since the laws criminalising suicide attempts was repealed from the criminal code.
Prof. Osei, appealed to organisations to protect their important human resource by promoting and integrating mental health interventions into their work culture since all workers are at risk of experiencing some mental health challenges at some point in time.
He advised the public to take every opportunity and learn about suicide and its warning signs and how they could help someone in distress and seek professional help for the individual.
This year’s World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD was marked on the theme “a renewed worldwide commitment to preventing suicide; creating hope through action”, aimed at raising public awareness on the risk factors and triggers of suicide and how to deal with this urgent public health issue.
The silence surrounding suicide – and its prevention – is digging a grave for the youth in Ghana.
It was the classic study of Emile Durkheim on suicide in 1897 that exposed the subject matter to many people in the world.
The academic piece categorised the subject matter into egoistic, altruistic, anomic and fatalistic suicides.
According to the theorist, who was also a renowned sociologist, suicides of all sorts were blamable on the society, explaining that society pushes individuals to commit the act.
Fatalistic suicide
Fatalistic suicide is common when a person is extensively regulated, when their futures are pitilessly blocked with oppressive discipline.
It occurs in oppressive societies such as prisons, because the person is denied of his/her freedom. Read More...
