AS Jamaica joins with the rest of the world in recognising World Suicide Prevention Day today, founder of Choose Life International, Dr Donovan Thomas, has issued a call for the nation to be more proactive in averting the challenges that are causing people to take their lives.

“Last year we had 28 suicides in Jamaica, this year already, we have had 40 up to the end of August,” he said, while noting that the year 2000 saw the most suicide cases in the island with 80.

“What we know as I look at the research for 2011 and 2010 is that teenagers up to early 20’s have the highest number of suicides in the nation. As we talk about what is happening in the schools, we are finding more and more teenagers who are coming in who are feeling suicidal,” Dr Thomas told the Observer yesterday during a World Suicide Prevention Day seminar at the Wyndham Hotel in Kingston.

Choose Life International is a member of the International Association for Suicide Preventio, and was started by Thomas and his wife Faith in 2008 after working with countless people contemplating suicide.

“The presence of suicide says that we need to do something, the predictions are notably getting worse and we want to be proactive in order to help process and avert the crisis,” he said.

Director of mental health services in the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr Maureen Irons-Morgan, said that over 90 per cent of suicide victims would have had a diagnosable mental health problem, and the acts could have been prevented had their been sufficient intervention.

“Over the past year, we have noticed an upward trend in the number of suicides committed, especially for children and adolescents,” she said.

“Suicide has also been associated with homicide in our country and in others, and this complicates and multiply the burden of loss and suffering,” she further noted.

She said various strategies needed to be applied to deal with the issue of suicide, including improving the mental health of the population and increasing access to mental health services, promoting healthy lifestyle practices and including suicide prevention in the National Mental Health policy.

But even as the society tries to strategise ways to deal with the issue, chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, Grace McLean, said the problem was a worrying one for the ministry since it affected many students.

“It is very important that we stop as a country and take a look at the challenges that are facing us as Jamaicans today, that are resulting in our people being traumatised, losing hope, giving up, going into depression and doing what I call the ultimate sin of committing suicide,” she said.

“We have to confront this demon head on and the only way we can do this, is if we sufficiently understand the challenges, confront them and gradually assist our people in dealing with them,” said the educator.

President of the Jamaica Association of Full Gospel Churches and the Spanish Town Ministers’ Fraternal, Rohan Edwards, said the church was trying to do it’s part in offering counselling and instilling hope. The pastor, in concurring that the problem was a worrying one, recounted how he witnessed a man shooting himself after exiting his car.

“We have seen the many problems that arise from people who have to take their life, the hurt that it brings to the families and friends and neighbours,” he said.

Meanwhile, chief dental officer Dr Irving McKenzie — who represented the health ministry at the seminar, called on more people to be their brother’s keeper. He also noted that the problem is affecting every sector of the society.

“One just needs to look at the epidemiological profile of suicide that even in some of the most developed countries in this world suicide affects the rich, it affects the poor, it affects all races, all nationality all creed. It happens in the church, it happens outside of the church, it happens within the inner-city communities, it happens in the very rich communities,” he said.