At least five persons per 1 lakh population in Jharkhand die by suicide, latest data released by the International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP) has revealed, further stating that the probability of achieving the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) target of reducing suicide mortality rate by one-third by the year 2030 was hardly 10 per cent in Jharkhand if the current trends continue.
According to the IASP, Jharkhand’s Suicide Death Rate (SDR) was one of the lowest among states and union territories in India. While the SDR in Jharkhand is likely to stay lower than most of the other states and union territories in India by 2030, there was 90 per cent probability that Jharkhand will fail to reduce suicide mortality rate in the next nine years, IASP’s prediction reveals.
“Given the current situation, it seems quite impossible for the state to achieve WHO’s target of reducing suicide mortality rate. However, if the health department invests more in mental health and ensures medical support to people in need, we might be able to reduce suicides,” said Dr. Siddharth Sinha, Senior Consultant at Ranchi Institute of Neuro Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS).
The lack of awareness and stigma associated with mental health are the leading reasons for rise in cases of mental health disorders and suicides in Jharkhand, said Sinha, adding that timely medical intervention can reduce suicides by a significant rate.
The WHO is set to observe World Mental Health Day on October 10. This year, the theme of the day is ‘mental health in an unequal world’, and the WHO plans to address disparities and gaps in awareness and accessibility to mental health treatment across the globe. Being a developing state, Jharkhand still struggles with limited infrastructure and resources in terms of providing treatment to people suffering from mental health disorders, say psychiatrists.
“According to the National Mental Health Survey of India, conducted 2015-2016, we found the treatment gap to be more than 90 per cent for common mental illnesses. This may be a direct consequence of chronic under-investment, as governments spend an average of just over 2 per cent of their health budgets on mental health,” said Dr. Nishant Goyal, assistant professor of psychiatry at Central Institute of Psychiatry in Ranchi.
While the Covid-19 pandemic gave psychiatrists an opportunity to raise the issue of under-investment in mental health, it also wreaked havoc on the mental health of several thousand Jharkhand residents, said Goyal, adding that unemployment, feeling of isolation and alienation coupled with the fear of the virus led to a significant spike in mental disorders in the state.