Holguín promotes actions for World Suicide Prevention Day
- Written by Lourdes Pichs Rodríguez
- Published in Holguin
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Health authorities in the province of Holguín, in coordination with the Secretariat of Social Projection of the FEU and the University of Medical Sciences (UCMHO) will develop a community activity in the Máximo Gómez park, on Saturday, September 9, to mark the World Suicide Prevention Day.
Professionals from various sectors will promote educational and cultural activities; in addition to sporting events aimed at preventing suicide, a phenomenon that demands special attention, since according to statistical reports from 2022 the incidence is high, even though there were fewer deaths in the province from this cause compared to the previous year.
Since 2003, September 10 has been promoted by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) together with the World Health Organization (WHO) to demonstrate that these acts can be prevented.
According to WHO reports, some 703,000 people commit suicide each year globally, situation that according to this organization "causes a high impact on families, communities and countries."
In addition, it acknowledges that it is not directly related to a specific age, although in 2019 “suicide was identified as the fourth cause of death among young people between 15 and 29 years old globally.”
In Cuba, the Suicidal Behavior Prevention Program has among its purposes “to reduce morbidity due to suicide attempts, as well as mortality due to this accomplished fact,” according to Communication professionals from the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap).
Hence, prevention actions for this problem at Primary Health Care level are essential, from the family doctor and nurse office and the polyclinic, with the participation of community factors.
In this regard, a Mental Health Center is located in each municipality with basic health teams integrated into the work, which are composed of nursing staff, social workers, psychologists, doctors and addiction specialists, among others, whose main task is to educate and prevent, in addition to providing differentiated care to people with suicidal behavior.
