News Highlight
The Union Health Ministry rolls out the country’s first suicide prevention policy, the National Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Key Takeaway
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced a National Suicide Prevention Strategy, the first of its kind in the country, with time-bound action plans and multi-sectoral collaborations to reduce suicide mortality by 10% by 2030.
The National Suicide Prevention Strategy
- About
- The newly launched National Suicide Prevention Strategy is the first of its kind in the country.
- Data on suicide deaths 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 document records.
- The most common reasons for suicide include family problems and illnesses, which account for 34% and 18% of all suicide-related deaths.
- State wise
- Maharashtra topped the country regarding the number of suicides reported in 2021, followed by Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.
- Maharashtra contributed 13.5% to the total suicides registered across the country in 2021.
- Union Territories
- Delhi recorded the highest number of 2,840 suicides.
- Time-bound action plan
- The suicide prevention policy comes with time-bound action plans and multi-sectoral collaborations to reduce suicide mortality by 10% by 2030.
- The policy envisages
- Developing guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides, and
- Restricting access to means of suicide.
- Sustainable Development Goal
- The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.4 aims to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one-third through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
- Key features
- Establish an effective surveillance mechanism for suicide prevention within the next three years.
- Establish psychiatric outpatient departments in all districts within the next five years to provide suicide prevention services through the District Mental Health Programme.
- Integrate a mental well-being curriculum in all educational institutions within the next eight years
- Develop guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides and restricting access to means of suicide.
- Developing community resilience and societal support for suicide prevention.
Other Initiatives to Reduce Suicides
- The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017
- It aims to provide mental healthcare services for persons with mental illness.
- KIRAN
- The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched a 24/7 toll-free helpline, “KIRAN”, to provide support to people facing anxiety, stress, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health concerns.
- Manodarpan Initiative
- It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
- It is aimed at providing psychosocial support to students, family members and teachers for their mental health and well-being during Covid-19.
Pic courtesy: The Hindu
Content Source: The Hindu