Report calls for national strategy to prevent suicides

A coordinated, whole-of-society effort is needed to prevent more suicides, which disproportionately affect young people, said a group that has published a 160-page report outlining a national suicide prevention strategy for Singapore.

- Joyce Teo

Among the White Paper's recommendations are having a national office coordinate various anti-suicide efforts that function independently of mental health services, a surveillance system that produces more regular data, and a national public awareness campaign on suicide prevention.

The White Paper was launched in conjunction with World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept 10 by advocacy group SG Mental Health Matters, founded by former nominated MP Anthea Ong, and will be presented to the Government by the end of the month.

Called Project Hayat, which means "life" in Malay, the report laid out its own research findings and 23 recommendations for addressing the gaps in suicide prevention here.

Leading its recommendations is the establishment of a national office that is empowered and funded to coordinate the data, monitoring and interventions across multiple sectors in the Government and community.

It is the first study on suicide prevention in Singapore, and comes after the launch of Singapore's National Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy in October 2023.

Ms Ong said the Government and community groups have made strides in suicide prevention, but the nation lacks a framework for coordinated action across the ecosystem that focuses on suicide specifically and not simply couched within a framework for mental health.

"We... have some mention of suicide prevention in the National Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy, but again, that is incomplete because not all suicides (can be) attributed to mental illness, and not all who have mental health conditions are suicidal," she said. "Without a national strategy and framework, we also would not be able to know which of the efforts contributed to the increase or reduction in suicide rates."