THE Natasha Goulbourne Foundation is inviting everyone to observe World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10 by remembering lost loved ones and supporting suicide survivors by lighting a candle near a window at 8 p.m.
More Filipinos today are prone to suicide but a larger percentage is willing to seek help, the foundation said Wednesday.
It reported that almost 3,000 people worldwide commit suicide every day, which means that one person dies of suicide every 40 seconds. About one million people take their lives each year.
In the Philippines, this translated to around five suicides daily, committed by people in their early 20s.
However, Dr. Ronaldo Elepaño, consultant at NGF and psychiatrist at The Medical City, said the report clarified that suicide cases are underreported because of socio-cultural stigma, legal harassment and the need for insurance benefits. Some cases are also misclassified as accidents.
Furthermore, the World Health Organization found that only three percent of total government spending worldwide is allotted for mental health. Less than one percent is spent in low-income countries and five percent in high-income countries.
To make up for this, the World Health Assembly recently taught its 194 member-states to reduce suicide rates by 10 percent in 2020 through a Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan.
In the Philippines, the Department of Health underlined the importance of a support network to persons at risk of taking their lives and advised sensitivity in dealing with depressed persons.
The NGF also runs a school caravan in different parts of Metro Manila to raise awareness on this issue. Those who suffer from stress may also seek help through NGF’s 24-7 hotline at 804-HOPE (4673).
Elepaño urged everyone to be open-minded about suicide. “If you look at it as an illness, it will be easier to accept it as treatable. The earlier the treatment, the better the prognosis,” he said.
“Depressed people need professional help,” the doctor added. “It is very similar to any other ailments. It is an emergency. Contact their families or take them to hospitals.”