UN / SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY

Suicide Prevention Day raises awareness that suicide is often a taboo issue and relevant to all levels of society. Every year, approximately one million people commit suicide, around 3,000 deaths a day or one death every 40 seconds. UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:20
• Production Date: 10 September 2009
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: PSYCHOLOGY
• MAMS Id: U090910e

Description

STORY: UN / SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY
TRT: 1.20
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 10 SEPTEMBER 2009, NEW YORK CITY

Shotlist

FILE – UNTV – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters

10 SEPTEMBER 2009, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Werner Obermeyer, Senior External Relations Officer, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Every year around one million people die of suicide, making it the tenth largest cause of death globally. More people are killed by suicide than any other type of violence, including armed conflict, each year.”
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Brian Mishara, President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention:
“We are pleased that now India has de-criminalized suicide, but a large number of countries in the world today, someone who attempts suicide will be thrown into jail for having attempted suicide rather than being treated for mental health problems or given help for the other difficulties that they have.”
6. Close up, photographer
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Brian Mishara, President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention:
“When an elderly man loses his wife, his risk of death by any cause doubles in the following five years. When it’s the husband that dies, the life expectancy of the woman increases, slightly.”
8. Various shots, end of press conference

Storyline

Around one million people die of suicide every year, more than by any other type of violence including armed conflict, an official from the United Nations health agency noted today (10 September).

Speaking on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day, Werner Obermeyer from the World Health Organization (WHO) said that suicide is the tenth biggest killer globally and stressed the need for greater efforts to tackle this preventable cause of death.

According to WHO, an average of almost 3,000 people commit suicide every day, and for every person who completes a suicide, 20 or more may attempt to end their lives. Ninety percent of suicides are related to mental disorders such as depression, and substance abuse.

The theme of this year’s Day, observed annually on 10 September, is prevention in different cultures.

Brian Mishara from the International Association for Suicide Prevention noted that many countries still tend to punish rather than try to help those who have attempted suicide.

He welcomed India’s recent de-criminalization of suicide and called for more investment in mental health, pointing out that on the positive side, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions have witnessed a downward trend in suicide rates, which he believed was linked to national suicide prevention strategies in a number of countries.

Mishara also noted that one under-reported high risk group was men over age 85. He said this was partly because the elderly are “under-treated” for problems like depression, even though research shows that older people respond as well or better to treatment than younger people. Another big factor contributing to a high rate of suicide among elderly men was a tendency to become socially isolated when their spouses died.

According to Mishara, the risk of death from any cause for an elderly man who loses his wife “doubles in the following five years.” When it’s the husband that dies, “the life expectancy of the woman increases.”