The Ministry of Health, with technical support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), has launched a National Suicide Surveillance System, which is designed to facilitate real-time tracking and analysis of cases of suicide and attempted suicide.

The National Suicide Surveillance System was launched at the Ministry of Health on Tuesday by the Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony in the presence of the Director of PAHO/WHO, Dr Jarbas Barbosa da Silva and PAHO/WHO Guyana Country Representative, Dr Kim Dickson.

Dr Barbosa da Silva said Guyana faces a high burden of suicide and suicide attempts, making it a serious public health concern for the country.

He, however, said PAHO was pleased to provide technical support to the Government, through the Ministry of Health, as it moved to reform mental health care at all levels within the country through legislative reform and improved policies and programmes.

He said the National Suicide Surveillance System will complement the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Act, the Suicide Prevention Act, and the National Mental Health Plan 2023-2030 as the country improves data collection on cases of suicide and attempted suicide.

“Quality real time data on suicide and suicide attempt is crucial to understanding the problem, identifying the high risk-groups and responding with effective and targeted interventions,” Dr Barbosa da Silva said.

He explained that accurate data on cases of suicide and self-harm are vital to informing mental health services provision, resource deployment and guidelines for managing suicidal behavior.

The PAHO/WHO Guyana Country Representative, in her address, said the National Suicide Surveillance System will provide the Health Ministry and its partners with important data that would guide policies necessary to reduce the tragic loss of life caused by suicide.

“This system will serve as a backbone for our national strategy to address the root causes of suicide. The system will also facilitate a comprehensive data driven approach to understanding and addressing the complex issue of suicide in Guyana. Through real time data collection and analysis, the system would help to identify trends, promote understanding of risk factors, guide implementation of targeted interventions, and assist in the monitoring of progress,” Dr Dickson explained.

Describing suicide as a human tragedy, the PAHO/WHO Country Representative said suicide impacts families, communities and the nation as a whole.

She said in Guyana, the suicide rate remains high compared to other countries, particularly among the youth and rural population.

She said the situation calls for an urgent intervention and the surveillance system will provide the health authorities with the ability to track, analyze and respond to incidents of suicide with a level of precision and with empathy.

Minister Anthony said while the Government was able to pass the Mental Health Protection and Promotion Act and the Suicide Prevention Act, the Health Ministry, in some cases, was unable to track cases of suicide due to failure by some to report cases of suicide and attempted suicide.

He said the surveillance system will address that gap.

“While this exist in law, we were still having challenges with institutions reporting, especially hospitals. So, when something happens, people go to the hospital, it was not reported or it was reported very late. So, we thought by developing this in an electronic format, giving people access to it, we would be able to get the information almost in real time, and once we are able to get the information, then we will respond appropriately,” he explained.

He said now with the ability to track cases of suicide and suicide attempts, the Health Ministry would be able to track survivors, in the case of attempted suicide, and provide counseling and support to families and those affected.

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