‘One suicide every 40 seconds worldwide’

LAHORE:An international seminar on self-harm and suicide prevention was held here on Tuesday. Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning (PILL) CEO Professor Nasim Chaudhry said that mental health was as important as physical health and therefore there was a need to prioritise the mental health also in Pakistan. King Edward Medical University VC Prof Dr Khalid Masood Gondal said that mental health was very important especially in children and therefore the psychiatry department of KEMU is working rigorously on the subject.

Prof Imran Chaudhry, Chairman Department of Psychiatry Ziauddin Hospital, said that they were engaging the community and also holding meetings with policy makers of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to remove the stigma associated with suicide. Usman Arshad, a research psychologist, said that there was a dire need to work on suicide prevention as a person was committing suicide in every 40 seconds worldwide, according to the WHO.

Director Research of Global Mental Health Prof Nusrat Husain said that many countries like Kenya, Bangladesh and South Africa were looking towards Pakistan due to work being done here and the culturally adapted therapies of Pakistan can also be fruitful for the developed countries. Prof Karina Lovell from the University of Manchester, Uzma Omer and other experts also spoke.