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Corona Fallout

Suicide on rise in country

Published : Friday, 11 September, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 436

The suicidal tendency in the country has increased during the coronavirus pandemic with social unrest and instability growing.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Bangladesh ranks the 10th in the world in terms of suicidal tendencies.
The economic downturn in the coronavirus crisis has led to a decline in income and loss of work causing instability and frustration among people.
To get rid of insecurity of life and frustration, many people have tried to commit suicide or committed suicides.
There is no activity at the national level to prevent suicide in the country. However, with the help of the WHO, an organization called the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), is working around the world to prevent suicide.    To make people aware, the organization has been observing September 10 every year as 'World Suicide Prevention Day'.
On Thursday, Bangladesh like the rest of the world, celebrated the 18th World Suicide Prevention Day. This time the theme of the day was 'Let's Work Together to Prevent Suicide'.
According to a survey by the National Institute of Mental Health, suicides are more prevalent in the south-east region in Bangladesh where Chuadanga and Jhenaidah are the most affected districts.
According to Society for Voluntary Activities (SoVA), a non-governmental organization, the first six months of this year showed that men are more likely to commit suicide than women.
In Sadar Upazila of Jhenaidah district ten men and eight women committed suicide between January and June this year, in Harinakundu Upazila nine men and five women committed suicides, in Maheshpur Upazila eight men and six women and in Kotchandpur Upazila two men committed suicides but no woman committed suicide in these six months.
However, the agency's previous year's statistics also showed that women had a higher suicide rate than men. However, they have not yet studied the reasons for the increase in male suicide in the first six months of this year.
Helal Uddin Ahmed, Assistant Physician and Psychiatrist of National Institute of Mental Health and Hospital, said, "Many suicides have taken place in the last six months during the coronavirus. When there is a humanitarian catastrophe and people go through various types of crises including socio-economic instability, issues like suicide increases."
"Suicide is more prevalent among teenagers, young people and women in Bangladesh. As a result, it is important to take care of this vulnerable group," he added.
Dr Helal further said another cause of suicide is mental illness. Depression is one of the most common causes of suicide. If depression, personality disorder and mood disorders can be identified and treated quickly, it is possible to reduce suicide to a large extent.
Anisur Rahman Khan, a teacher of Social Work Department of East West University, said, "We have studied various cases of people committing suicide in the country during the coronaviru pandemic from March to May. In this ongoing crisis, the suicide rate of men is almost 9 times higher than that of women. However, women have always been more prone to suicide in Bangladesh."
Zahidul Islam, a representative of the Bangladesh Chapter of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), said, "People commit suicide during pandemics and crises. We have to work to deal with the crisis."









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