The entire Västra Götaland region and the county's 49 municipalities have supported the action plan that was launched last autumn.
According to Lise-Lotte Risö Bergerlind from the region, the joint action plan has already had an effect and several municipalities have now developed their own local action plan.
- We hope for a long-term, purposeful work on the issue and that it will be a regular way of working and not just a campaign, says Lise-Lotte Risö Bergerlind, Team Knowledge Support for Mental Health.
Assignment from the government
Work is also being done at national level to develop new strategies for the work with suicide prevention.
Nearly 1,200 people take their lives every year in Sweden.
In Västra Götaland, the number is closer to 200.
The government has commissioned the Swedish Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare, together with another 24 authorities, such as the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the National Agency for Education and the police, to collect data for a new plan.
- The most important thing is that you now take a holistic approach and start from a public health perspective and the broad commitment between 26 authorities, says Jenny Telander, unit manager at the Public Health Agency.
Education and courses
The basis for the new national action plan will be submitted to the government in September 2023.
Suicide prevention in the West is one of several non-profit actors that work together with the region to prevent suicide.
These can be educations and courses in suicide prevention.
In the clip, Monika Ölund tells which groups in the population they focus on reaching out to.