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Mental Health Authority Deputy CEO Dr Caroline Amissah called on the government to invest more in mental health to reduce the rate of suicide attempts in the country.
In the first half of this year (June 2021), Ghana recorded 417 cases of attempted suicide. In 2020, he recorded 777 suicide attempts.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a suicide prevention awareness program held at Accra Girls Senior High School to commemorate this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day, Dr Amissah said the support in mental health needs to be readily available and accessible.
She said the country’s three current mental hospitals were woefully insufficient to cater for the more than 30 million Ghanaians, adding that these systems must be accessible in all communities to reduce the tide of suicide attempts.
“Mental health first aid should be available to all of us; we are talking about mental health in our communities. We want people to enter any health facility freely to access mental health services; when we start doing that, we can now ask why people still die by suicide, ”she said.
The program, organized by the Mental Health Authority in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Psychological Association, aimed to raise awareness about suicide prevention.
Suicide is defined as the act of deliberately committing suicide. It is caused by many factors, including family history, substance abuse, negative self-esteem, access to lethal means, and the graphic presentation of suicide in the media.
Globally, more than 700,000 people kill themselves each year, 77% of them in low- and middle-income countries.
Dr Amissah, however, lamented the continued criminalization of suicide attempts by the laws of the land, saying these people instead needed support instead of being confined to jail.
He said the Authority urges relevant stakeholders to repeal these laws.
“There are a whole bunch of issues that could make people depressed, and depression is the leading cause of suicide. For example, someone is sad or can’t cope, they go into depression, and if not handled well, that’s when we find them becoming suicidal.
“We are working diligently, advocating its repeal of our law books. We work with Parliament; it’s not a one-day process, but we engaged the legislation subcommittee, and they agreed.
She called on telecommunications companies to support the Mental Health Authority by providing them with a free customer service number to make it easier for people with suicidal thoughts to access support.
Dr Yaw Amankwa Arthur, acting head of health promotion at the Mental Health Authority, urged people with suicidal thoughts to go to any health facility to seek help immediately.
World Suicide Prevention Day is celebrated every year on September 10 to raise awareness about suicide prevention.
This year’s day was on the theme: “Creating Hope Through Action”.
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