Curbing the high rate of suicide

A recent survey indicating that about 80 Nigerians have committed suicide in the last 13 months (April 8, 2017 to May 12, this year) is quite worrisome and calls for urgent action to halt the gory trend. The major factors responsible for the reported suicides range from financial difficulty, marital problems, academic challenges, among others. Lagos state leads the pack with 14 reported cases within the period under review.
According to the recent World Health Organisation (WHO) Suicide Ranking, with 15.1 suicides per 100,000 population in a year, Nigeria is now the 30th most suicide-prone (out of 183 nations) in the world and the 10th in Africa. Nigeria is leading countries like Togo (ranked 26th), Sierra Leone (11th), Angola (19th), Equatorial Guinea (7th), Burkina Faso (22nd) and Cote d’Ivoire (5th).
The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) said suicide occurs throughout the lifespan and is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year olds globally. In fact, 78 per cent of suicides occurred in low- and middle-income countries in 2015. Suicide accounted for 1.4 percent of all deaths worldwide, making it the 17th leading cause of death in 2015. There are indications that for each adult who died of suicide there may have been more than 20 others who have attempted suicide.
In Nigeria today, the plight of the under-privileged is steadily worsening and many go to bed with less than a survival diet. The unemployment crisis has created a lost generation of graduates who cannot find jobs. Yet it is an established fact that impoverished individuals are a major risk group for depression. And depression, according to experts, is the most common reason why people commit self-murder.
Medical practitioners under the aegis of the Society of Family Physicians of Nigeria (SOFPON) have been raising concerns about the growing number of Nigerians living with depression. According to a SOFPON official, Dr. Blessing Chukwukwelu, in Nigeria, “only one-fifth of those with a depressive episode receive any treatment, and only one in 50 receives treatment that is minimally adequate.” She recommends that medical practitioners who see various cases of ailment at the primary health centres should be trained on how to identify the symptoms of depression.
Also in Nigeria today, the use of hard drugs, particularly Indian hemp, cocaine and even methamphetamine and other opioids like codeine and tramadol are commonplace in the society – drugs whose adverse effects range from depression to suicide. Indeed, drug abuse is so prevalent across the country that it is a social problem in many of the northern states, prompting the federal government’s recent ban on codeine as an active pharmaceutical ingredient for making cough syrup. This, in our view, is the right foot forward towards tackling the menace that is one of the chief causes of suicide.
However, given the socio-economic situation in the country, it is also obvious that many citizens are reaching their breaking points with the conclusion that they are better off dead. It is such situation of hopelessness that may account for the growing rise of suicide. Therefore, public officials at all levels should also by way of good governance pay serious attention to the socio-economic constraints that could trigger in the people the urge to take their own lives.
Blueprint observes that although suicide is a major cause of mortality worldwide, accounting for an estimated one million deaths annually the situation in Nigeria is exacerbated by the fact that there is currently no national suicide prevention strategy in the country as recommended by WHO. WHO says one of the keys to reducing death by suicide is the commitment of national governments towards establishment and implementation of a coordinated multi-sectorial plan of action within education, employment, social welfare and judicial departments.
But, Nigeria, with a suicide rate of 9.9 per 100,000, which is higher than the African regional average of 8.8 per 100, 000, is not measuring up to expectation in its suicide response plan. Currently, only 28 countries have national suicide prevention strategies, while 13 others are in the process of developing their own national strategies. The WHO’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme, launched in 2008, includes suicide prevention as a priority and provides evidence-based technical guidance to expand service provision in countries.
We, therefore, urge the Nigerian government to put the necessary machinery in motion in fulfilling its pledge, made with other member states under the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, to meet the global target of reducing suicide rate by 10 percent by 2020. There is also the need for an efficient system of health records with proper documentation of deaths and their causes. The 1958 Lunacy Act, which criminalises suicide, should be reviewed having become dormant and anachronistic.