National Suicide Prevention Strategy:
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has announced the “National Suicide Prevention Strategy”.
- It is the first of its kind in the country, with time-bound action plans and multi-sectoral collaborations to achieve reduction in suicide mortality by 10% by 2030.
- The strategy is in line with the World Health Organisation’s South East-Asia Region Strategy for suicide prevention.
- The strategy broadly seeks to establish effective surveillance mechanisms for suicide within the next three years.
- It seeks to establish psychiatric outpatient departments that will provide suicide prevention services through the District Mental Health Programme in all districts within the next five years.
- It also aims to integrate a mental well-being curriculum in all educational institutions within the next eight years.
- It envisages developing guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides, and restricting access to means of suicide.