Union Health Ministry rolls out country’s first suicide prevention policy

Source: The post is based on the article “Union Health Ministry rolls out country’s first suicide prevention policy” published in The Hindu on 22nd November 2022.

What is the News?

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced a National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

About National Suicide Prevention Strategy

National Suicide Prevention Strategy is a first of its kind in the country.

Purpose: It seeks time-bound action plans and multi-sectoral collaborations to achieve reduction in suicide mortality by 10% by 2030.

The strategy is in line with the WHO’s South East-Asia Region Strategy for suicide prevention.

Key features of the strategy: 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 districts within the next five years

– Integrate a mental well-being curriculum in all educational institutions within the next eight years. 

– Develop guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides and restrict access to means of suicide. 

– Develop community resilience and societal support for suicide prevention.

About the status of suicide cases in India

In India, more than one lakh lives are lost every year to suicide and it is the top killer in the 15-29 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.