Global suicide rates have fallen over the past few years but a person still commits suicide every 40 seconds somewhere around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. Only 38 countries have national suicide prevention strategies, the WHO said in Geneva.
"Every death is a tragedy for family, friends and colleagues. Suicides can be prevented," the organization's director general, Tadros Adhanom Gebrisos, was quoted as saying by the German news agency DPA.
Proven steps include building youth skills to cope with stress, help people at risk and curb access to risks such as pesticides.
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that the ban on pesticides in Sri Lanka reduced suicide by 70% between 1995 and 2015. In South Korea, a similar policy has resulted in a half-suicide decline between 2011 and 2013.
The global suicide rate dropped by 9.8 percent to 10.5 deaths per 100,000 people between 2000 and 2016, according to WHO, citing the latest available data.
The Americas were the only region in the world with a rising suicide trend during that period.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said suicide was the second-highest cause of death among people aged 15-29 after road accidents.