'Suicide behind one in every 100 deaths'

MORE than one in every 100 deaths globally is due to suicide, the World Health Organization said yesterday, calling for urgent action to stem a mounting mental health crisis among young people especially.

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The WHO said that, while global suicide rates had fallen somewhat in recent years, progress in combating the issue was far too slow.

In 2021 - the last year for which data was available — there were an estimated 727 000 suicides worldwide, the United Nations’ health agency said.

“Globally, suicide accounts for more than one in every 100 deaths, and for each death, there are 20 suicide attempts,” said Devora Kestel, the interim head of the WHO’s noncommunicable disease and mental health department.

Those suicides “affected countless more lives and livelihoods, as friends, carers and loved ones were forced to grapple with unimaginable hardship’, she told reporters.