http://www.cmaj.ca/site/earlyreleases/9sept14_suicide-report-indicates-shift-at-WHO.xhtml

Yesterday was World Suicide Prevention Day.

The Reading of the Week, an article from CMAJ, touches on this topic and discusses the recently released WHO report, “Preventing Suicide: A global imperative.”

The WHO report finds:

  • Every year, 800,000 people suicide.
  • That works out to a suicide every 40 seconds.
  • Suicide is the second leading cause of death worldwide for people 15 to 29 of age.

The CMAJ article goes into detail on the progress made internationally in recognizing mental illness as a major problem. Historically, global health excluded a discussion of mental health.

As the publication of the WHO report shows, things are starting to change.

The article also discusses suicide prevention in China, where suicide rates have fallen by 60% between 2000 and 2012.

My thought? Much work to be done, but hope.

(The full WHO report can be found here: http://www.who.int/mental_health/suicide-prevention/world_report_2014/en/)