Concern has been raised over the number of deaths caused by suicide over the years, it has emerged that 1641 people committed suicide in 2018 while by the first quarter of 2019, 142 cases had been reported, The Herald reports.
The Matter came to light at the NUST two-day Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Seminar where NUST Vice-Chancellor Mqele Dlodlo said:
According to WHO, 1,3 percent or 1 641 deaths were due to suicides.
To put this into perspective, in the same year, 2018, it was reported that 1 838 people died due to road accidents.
What this clearly indicates is that we must treat suicides in Zimbabwe as a looming crisis just the way we do road traffic accidents.
Most such deaths are by hanging. Police reported 142 such cases in the first three months of 2019
Suicide according to Professor Dlodlo is classified under mental illness like depression.
More: The Herald