WHO report: one commits suicide every 40 seconds around the world!

The Dhaka Times Desk Today a person takes their own life every 40 seconds around the world and more people die from suicide every year than from war!

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report released last Monday, these suicides are usually committed by hanging, taking poison, sleeping pills and shooting oneself. Basically these methods are the most common methods mentioned in the report.

WHO has called on governments around the world to adopt 'suicide prevention plans' to reduce suicide rates by helping people cope with stress.

The organization's report further states, “Suicide is essentially a global public health issue. People of all ages and genders are affected in all regions of the world. This adds up to enormous damage with every loss of life.”

According to the report, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29-year-olds worldwide after road accidents. Suicide has been identified as the second leading killer of adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19, after maternal deaths. On the other hand, the WHO report mentions that suicide is the highest cause of death after road accidents and violence in the case of teenagers.

About 8 lakh people die by suicide every year. This number is more than the number of people who die each year from malaria or breast cancer or from war or homicide.

From 2010 to 2016, the global average suicide rate decreased by 9.8 percent, but the rate in the Americas increased by 6 percent during the same period, according to the WHO report.

It is known that in low and middle income countries the suicide rate of men and women is almost the same, but in rich countries the tendency of men to commit suicide is almost 3 times higher than that of women.

"Suicide is preventable," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"We call on all countries to include evidence-based suicide prevention strategies in their national health and education programs," he said.

In this regard, the WHO believes that stricter pesticide control is one of the most effective ways to rapidly reduce the number of suicides.

WHO mentions Sri Lankan research in this regard. Since the ban on pesticides in Sri Lanka, suicides have dropped by 70 percent and 93,000 lives have been saved from 1995 to 2015.