WHO: Suicide kills a soul every 40 seconds

LONDON (Reuters) – A person kills every 40 seconds in the world and more people commit suicide each year than war victims, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

Suspending, poisoning and shooting are the most common ways to commit suicide, said the organization, urging governments to develop suicide prevention plans to help people cope with stress and reduce their access to suicide. .

"Suicide is a global public health problem," says the WHO report. It affects all ages, races and regions of the world, and losing soul means losing a lot. "

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for boys aged 15 to 29 after a motor vehicle accident. It is also the second leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19 after pregnancy and childbirth. For adolescent males, suicide is the third leading cause of death after road accidents and violence.

The World Health Organization said that nearly 800,000 people commit suicide each year, more than the victims of malaria, breast cancer, war or murder.

Global averages have declined in recent years, declining 9.8% between 2010 and 2016, but these declines have been uneven. In the WHO Americas region, for example, rates increased by 6% between 2010 and 2016.

The report also shows that the number of men who commit suicide in rich countries is almost three times higher than the number of women, unlike low- and middle-income countries where the proportion of suicides of both sexes is more equal .

"Suicide prevention is possible," said the Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Gebreisos. We call on all countries to develop proven suicide prevention strategies in their national health and education programs. "

Restrictions on access to pesticides are one of the most effective ways of rapidly reducing the number of suicides, FAO said.

Insecticides are commonly used in cases of suicide and usually result in death because they are very toxic and there is no vaccine for treatment. They are often used in remote areas where there is no medical assistance nearby.

The organization cited studies in Sri Lanka, where a pesticide ban reduced the number of suicides by 70 percent, saving about 93,000 lives between 1995 and 2015.