Suicide is one of the most severe threats to public health, but it is an unprivileged issue in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government has never prioritized suicide prevention actions, though several researches shows that 10,000-11,000 people commit suicide in the country every year on average.
The casualty rate of suicide is double compared with road accidents, which claims around 5,000 lives each year. But the suicide issue is not focused and people are not aware due to illiteracy, social stigma, social cohesion and injustice in the society.
World Health Organization (WHO) along with International Suicide Prevention Agency has been observing World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, since 2003. According to the WHO, one person dies every 40 second across the globe by committing suicide.
According to a 2014 report WHO, titled “Preventing suicide: A global imperative,” Bangladesh recorded nearly eight suicides for every 100,000 people.
Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed of the National Institute of Mental Health and Hospital (NIMH) said no government bodies comprehensively track suicides in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Police record the suicide data as per FIR of individual cases.
According to Bangladesh Police, on an average, around 30 people commit suicide every day. Last year, 11,308 people committed suicide in Bangladesh and it was 11, 204 in 2018.
No initiatives for preventing suicide by the government
Bangladesh government does not have any visual initiative to prevent suicide, and is yet to observe World Suicide Prevention Day. However on Thursday, suicide prevention day is being observed with the theme “Working Together to Prevent Suicide.”
The instruction by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to set up an institute dedicated to studying suicides have not been implemented yet.
However, all the public medical colleges and hospitals have a psychiatric department, but most people do not have any idea about it.
None of the government agencies have done any research over suicide in the last couple of years.
Mental health expert, psychiatrist and psychologist claim that the Bangladesh government does not even take the minimum initiatives to prevent suicide. The issue is always in the darkness despite the fact that suicides can be reduced with taking some simple initiatives.
Md Zahir Uddin, assistant professor at NIMH said: “The government can take some simple initiatives like admitting suicidal patients to hospitals, but get cure after admitted to hospitals; they should be referred to the psychiatric department as they need to be cured mentally.”
“The government should open a hotline service which is available in maximum countries, as suicidal people can get support or share their problems. If the government launches such hotline services, medical and counselling support should also be included along with it,” he added.
Dr Raisul Alam, registrar at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) said: “Two third of the population hints about their suicidal tendency, but family members or close people do not care about it in many cases.”
“Whenever it comes to mental disease, people think the person is mad. Mental health patients are even undermined by the family group or relatives. Therefore awareness building is most important at the government level as well as from private sectors,” he added.
Tansen Roze, president of Anti-Suicide Campaign Organization (Aachol Foundation), said it was very unfortunate that suicide had not been recognized as a public health concern yet in Bangladesh, despite thousands of people suffer from depression.
Health Education and Family Welfare Division Secretary Noor Ali said: “Mental health is very important for having a better life. We are gradually prioritizing mental health.”
“Psychological councillors have been appointed at educational institutions and many other organizations but it is not enough to prevent the risk of suicide,” he added.
