Suicides at 23-year high in Jamaica: What’s behind the alarming rise?

Mental health experts cite the COVID-19 pandemic, Jamaica’s violence crisis and drug use as possible factors behind the nation’s increasing suicide rate which hit a 23-year high in 2024. According to Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) figures, the number of suicide deaths have increased four consecutive years since 2021, climbing to 67 in 2024, the highest since 2001 when 75 people took their own lives. Over the 2021 to 2024 period, men accounted for 217 of suicide deaths, more than eight times ...