The Guyana government is to table legislation on Thursday as part of efforts to prevent cases of suicide in the country.
The government will present a bill to the National Assembly to address preventive measures to combat suicide and mental health awareness.
“This is a bill that we have been working on for some time, and it encompasses things that we can do to prevent suicides from happening,” said Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony.
“And the bill also provides for the repeal of the section of the law that criminalizes persons who attempt suicide. This has been something that people have been advocating for a long time to remove that section of the law, and this bill, once we pass it, will repeal that section,” he added.
Guyana has one of the highest rates of suicide worldwide. The World Health Organization figures claim 44.2 in every 100,000 Guyanese take their own lives, compared to a global average of 16.
The health minister admitted that suicide remains a haunting issue in Guyana despite the many efforts to address the issue over the years. He said the efforts are ongoing to deal with the problem.
“Suicide has been a problem for Guyana for a number of years, and we are considered to be one of the countries with a high suicide rate. We have been working to reduce the numbers, and the numbers have come down.
“But it is still a problem, so we need to ensure we bring down these numbers even further, understand the root causes of suicide, and take action based on those findings. And we are approaching it in different ways.”
The Ministry of Health is expected to soon release additional policies and initiatives that seek to reduce the number of suicide cases.
During a public forum last year, a visiting Colombia University professor who was conducting a study on Guyana’s suicide problem said there is an urgent need for solutions to be found to Guyana’s mental health situation.
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