Suicide cases are increasing continuously in India. Suicide cases, especially among the youth, are not only a matter of concern for the country, but have also become a big problem. According to the NCRB report, a total of 1.71 lakh people committed suicide in the country in the year 2022. These figures were the highest in the world.
Given the seriousness of suicide cases, public health experts on Monday requested policy makers to pay attention to these cases and not only consider mental health as the reason for these cases, but also consider social risk factors as a major reason in it.
These efforts will have to be emphasized
Public health experts said that to reduce cases of suicide, we will have to improve our emergency helpline. Apart from this, the danger of social factors will also have to be included in national suicide prevention strategies. Let us tell you, health experts have been demanding to expand the scope of national suicide prevention strategies for a long time.
Understand the seriousness of suicide in India through statistics
According to a report by The Telegraph, a research was conducted in the year 2018 which revealed that in the year 2016, 2 lakh 30 thousand people committed suicide in India. Apart from this, this research also revealed that in the year 1990, while India’s share in global suicide deaths was 25 percent, in the year 2016, it increased to 36 percent.
Suicide is a major cause of death among youth
In the same research, it was told that suicide is also a major cause of death among youth. In fact, while 71 percent of suicide cases among women were between the ages of 15 and 39, in 58 percent of suicide cases among men, the age of the deceased was between 15 and 39 years.
Attention will have to be paid to social risk factors in recession
An international panel of experts has warned that dealing with suicide cases has become more important now than before, in view of the economic recession. In a research report published in The Lancet, a panel of five public health experts writes that there is a need to pay attention to social factors in cases of suicide. Apart from this, there is a need to think seriously about the reasons why people commit suicide, what we can do to prevent cases of suicide.
What do experts say
In the year 2022, the Union Health Ministry had released a National Suicide Prevention Strategy. In this, the entire emphasis was given on mental health among the reasons for suicide. However, experts do not agree with this. Rakhi Dandona, professor of public health at the Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, and co-author of the new paper, says in an interview to The Telegraph, ‘Mental health support is necessary for those who may commit suicide due to mental health conditions, but it is not a solution for those who commit suicide due to debt or domestic violence or other reasons."
