The Ghana Psychological Association (GPA) on Sunday called on persons who may find themselves in crisis and contemplating suicide to seek professional care as there is help for everyone.
On September 10, being World Suicide Prevention Day, the GPA reiterated that “suicide is not an option” and urged governments to increase efforts at improving mental healthcare for its citizens to ensure quality life.
A statement signed by Dr Isaac Newman Arthur, the Public Relations Officer of the GPA, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said: “To anyone contemplating suicide, there is help for you.”
“Do not give up regardless of the crisis situation you may find yourself. We encourage you to seek professional care, now.”
The 2023 World Suicide Prevention Day is on the theme: “Creating Hope through Action”.
Every year, September 10 is observed globally as suicide prevention day, to create awareness on suicide and related issues, and encourage governments to ensure quality lives for their citizens.
The statement said Ghana’s mental healthcare story had been inspiring through the toil of many mental health professionals coupled with cutting-edge governmental policies to enhance wellbeing.
One such policy is the decriminalisation of attempted suicide by Ghana’s Parliament in March, this year, “which was well received by all who were involved in this noble cause,” it said.
The fruitful discourse on mental health and suicide-related issues in all media spaces, and the campaign in communities initiated by the professionals and organisations, including members of GPA, was highly commendable, the statement said.
“Though a lot have been done, the situation is still dire,” it said, and called on governments to take steps to deal with mental health issues with the urgency and seriousness they deserved.
The World Health Organisation says more than 700,000 people die by suicide each year, one person every 40 seconds, with majority of them being males.
“Suicide is the second most important cause of death amongst 15-19 year-olds. In Ghana, about 1,500 people die by suicide yearly,” the statement said.
“This is a pandemic, really! More than
98 per cent of them have an underlying mental illness, with majority of them having some form of depressive disorder.”
“Usually, four out of every five suicides could have been prevented if someone was paying attention, or offering a helping hand,” it said, and that mental health issues were usually neglected, understated, and underestimated.
The statement said budget allocations by governments to deal with those issues could be much better and reiterated that global crises situations and the hardships experienced by citizens of any country, including Ghana, could influence suicidal behaviors significantly.
“More than 70 per cent of deaths by suicide occur in low to middle income countries, thus, we need a global effort to curb this ‘pandemic’.”
The GPA, over the years, had prioritised mental health advocacy and intervention on the national and global front, and involved in sensitisation, policy formulation and disaster management, including suicide prevention.
It encouraged all stakeholders to continue efforts in advancing the good cause and invite partners to support the association.
“We encourage the government to continue its efforts to make mental healthcare affordable through the National Health Insurance Scheme,” it said.
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