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Suicide
prevention is everyone’s business
Each year in Northern
Ireland there are around 150 deaths by suicide and 5,000
across the UK. Globally, suicide is
one of the world’s largest public health problems accounting
for approximately one million lives lost annually.
The Health Promotion
Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA) is supporting the World
Suicide Prevention Day 2005 campaign
which highlights, ‘Prevention of suicide is everyone’s
business’. Held annually on 10 September, the day focuses
on suicide as one of the leading causes of death worldwide,
particularly in younger people.
In Northern Ireland, a multi-faceted approach to tackling
the issue of suicide was a major focus at a recent suicide
prevention conference organised by the HPA and the Investing
for Health team, Department of Health, Social Services and
Public Safety.
Dr Brian Gaffney,
Chief Executive of the HPA said: “Preventing
suicide and reducing the rate of suicide has become an urgent
public health issue in Northern Ireland. Across the UK, each
country is committed to doing all it can at local, regional
and national level to help reduce the risk of suicide in
our communities.
“Ongoing
work by the Northern Ireland Suicide Task Force has shown
that the only way to tackle this complex
issue is to involve the collaboration of all government agencies
and departments, local agencies, organisations, professionals
and other workers, communities, families and individuals.
We need to build upon what we have learnt at the suicide
prevention conference and work towards developing a strategy
which will best meet the needs of those most at risk.”
END
Notes to the editors
World Suicide Prevention Day was first organised in 2003, by the International
Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) in conjunction with the World
Health Organization (WHO).
Further information about the day is available on the website:
www.med.uio.no/iasp/wspd/menu2005.html.
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