Civil Society wants government intervention to respond to the increase in suicide cases among young people

Last September 10th was World Suicide Prevention Day. The Alliance for Health network organized this event as a way of raising critical and reflective attention around the growing number of suicide cases among young people in Mozambique, but also internationally.

The webinar began with a brief contextualization of the national and international scenario on suicide, based on data from the WHO (World Health Organization), presented by the moderator, Bayano Valy. He emphasized that suicide – the act of intentionally causing one's own death – is among the top 20 causes of death worldwide, and among young people aged 15 to 22, it is already the second leading cause of death, with Mozambique occupying second position in Africa.

Sociologist Stélio Nhenheze, the panel's first speaker, asked that “suicide be seen as a collective social problem and not just as an individual problem”. In the same vein, he also stated that “the country, as it is developing, has a high number of suicides linked, not only to romantic breakups, but also to financial problems, including in recent times betting and gambling, pressure social problems, health problems, substance abuse, among others”.

In turn, Momad Massingue, civil society community engagement officer, stated that, in the North of the country, particularly in the province of Cabo Delgado, “[forced] displacements, gender-based violence and the usurpation of assets have culminated in suicides or attempts”. He emphasized that, to prevent more cases of suicide in that part of the country, they choose to carry out occupational therapies, recreational support, psychosocial support and specialized referral.

According to clinical psychologist, Cesaltina Nhantumbo, “we find ourselves in a society in which the importance of mental health is neglected, making people afraid to open up, even though they are going through troubled times, but because they are in a closed environment, they end up committing suicide”. Still on the Mozambican context, the clinical psychologist highlighted that “the province of Inhambane has the highest suicide rate in the country, due to the lack of psychosocial support in hospital units, the poor knowledge of the functions performed by psychologists and psychiatrists and the stigma suffered by who seeks clinical monitoring”.

The webinar also featured sharing of experiences of people who tried to commit suicide.

Lucas (fictitious name) stated that he had already tried to take his own life due to a break-up. Another survivor, João (not his real name), shared his suicide attempt when he lost his mother, having received criticism from those closest to him for this fact, instead of receiving the support he needed.

During the debate that took place, it became clear from the CSOs present that there is an important and urgent need for society in general and the authorities to start looking at this phenomenon, not only as a public health issue, but also from the point of view of from a multisectoral point of view, looking at the causes that interrelate different social factors in an integrated way. Civil Society asks the Government to take a position and develop solid and structuring strategies, together with an effective action plan.

The Alliance for Health argues that it is necessary to go beyond community and family support networks to mitigate the problem of suicide; It is also necessary to intensify awareness campaigns in communities, create support networks, advocate and pressure the Government to develop strategies, policies and provide better services in a coordinated and multisectoral manner.

This event lasted two hours and was attended by more than 30 participants, who were able to convey their opinions, comments and reflections on this phenomenon of a growing number of young people who “give up” on life voluntarily.

Activity carried out within the scope of Agreement 22-CO1-398 “Improving the Quality, Coverage and Resilience of the Health System in Cabo Delgado”, implemented by medicusmundi, and financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).