Guyana and a discussion about suicide.

On February 26, 2018, the BBC released a video with Guyanese singer and pageant winner Lisa Punch regarding female suicide in the country. Guyana is a country with one of the highest suicide rates in the world. With an astounding 44.2 of ever 100,000 (the world average being 16 of every 100,000), it is no surprise that female suicide in the country is also very high. However, suicide is not one of the things to which we must have a gender-based outlook. It is gender neutral and if anything, more prevalent in men. In Guyana itself, for every female suicide, there are 3.2 male suicides. Which makes this a problem that transcends gender.

So what causes such high suicide rates in the country?

One of the reasons is the lack of mental health awareness in the country. There is no specific reason as to what causes a person to become mentally unstable but, the way he or she is treated can have a profound effect on whether the person is able to get over it or not. In many cases, patients with schizophrenia and other such mental afflictions are able to lead normal and healthy lives due to a proper combination of medication and counselling.

However, in Guyana, mental illness is not just a taboo, it is considered a form of witchcraft, which the locals call “obeah”. More often than not, people with mental illnesses are ostracised from society and sometimes even physically abused. The lack of knowledge about such issues causes suicide rates to skyrocket. With the government doing little to nothing to change this, and private NGO’s not having enough resources to get things done, the situation only worsens.

Since most of the Guyanese are farmers, the most common mode of suicide is by ingesting harmful pesticides which are available to them in bulk. While the government has made efforts to reduce the access to such chemicals in the past, they fail to realise that creating awareness among the public about suicide and mental illnesses is also necessary. The work of public education and rehabilitation is being taken over by non-profits like the Guyana Foundation.

The Foundation is responsible for starting centres like the Sunrise Centre in Zorg-En-Vigyt which helps young adults going through a period of depression and anxiety to learn new skills which helps them to find their place in the world. "When considering mental health issues, we also look at people's ability to contribute to society. Learning a skill like catering or floral arrangement can improve their sense of worth and outlook for the future" says Mr. Anthony Autar, the managing director of the Sunrise Centre.