Concerned about the high number of suicides in Guyana, President David Granger says he will be personally taking an interest in finding out why so many Guyanese are taking their lives, as authorities implement a suicide prevention plan.
He said a plan of action had been agreed at an emergency meeting held with key ministers to address the issue yesterday, a day after the latest suicide in East Bank Berbice. It will see non-governmental organizations (NGOs), religious organizations and other civil society groups being engaged to work with government on a centralized approach to suicide prevention.
Granger says he will have a hands-on approach to addressing this issue and will be implementing a national programme with measurable outcomes.
Guyana is reported to have the highest suicide rate, per capita, in the world. According to a report in the Guardian newspaper in the UK, there are 44.2 suicides per 100,000 people in the South American nation, compared to the global average of 16 per 100,000.
“I am concerned, as President, that Guyana has a higher rate of suicide than other countries. It is not as though there is an average around the world and we are just average. We are above average and that is disturbing,” he said.
“I intend to find out why we have so many suicides and, once we identify those factors, try to use governmental action and try to get the efforts of civil society and households to put this scourge to an end. We are above normal and I want to find out if its social, if its cultural, or if its economic and bring an end to it . . . we know what the disease is, let’s find out what the cures are.”
Granger promised that his administration would do all in its power to reduce the suicide rate, “especially since many of the victims of this scourge are young people in whose hands the country’s future lies”. (Caribbean 360)
