11 September 2021 12:00 am Views - 387
Sri Lanka has ranked 29 on the global review of suicide according to the world population review of World Health Organisation said yesterday.
According to World Population Review, Sri Lanka is 29th rank on the global scale according to suicides, and the suicide rate is 14.6 suicides per 100,000 in 2019. Among the reasons for the increased rate of suicides in the recent past, lack of coping skills among vulnerable individuals and failure to recognise their distress by their loved ones are seen as prominent causes.
Free availability of lethal pesticides and medicinal drugs contribute to high rates of suicides by providing easy access to lethal substances for self-poisoning at times of distress. Among medical causes, undetected and partially treated mental illnesses and alcohol and illicit drugrelated suicides are significant contributory factors that need urgent attention. Other causes such as poverty, unemployment, migration of caregivers of vulnerable individuals, frustration among youth and loneliness of the elderly are significant causes warranting a socio-political discussion, the Consumer National Action Network Mental Health Sri Lanka which quoted WHO said. Suicide Prevention Day is celebrated on September 10 every year.
Globally over 700,000 people die by suicide every year - in 2019, more and one in every 100 deaths worldwide were due to suicide. And for every one person who dies, 20 more have attempted suicide. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that approximately one person dies every 40 seconds owing to suicides. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds globally, and over 79% of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries, including Sri Lanka.