- States allocate only 3% of the budget on mental health issues and 80% on psychiatric hospitals, but there is no investment of the first level of care.
- In Colombia, during the first semester of 2020, 113 cases of suicides were registered in people under 18 years of age, 1 every 38 hours.
- In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of a family member or someone close to the environment can become a trigger for a girl or boy to choose suicide.
According to a United Nations report, suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents and young people between the ages of 15 and 29; Likewise, approximately 264 million people suffer from depression worldwide, a figure that tends to increase with the COVID-19 pandemic. [1]
In this context, the initiative Weaving Childhood Nets in Latin America and the Caribbean, in coordination with the coalition Alliance for Colombian Children, they performed the Latin American Virtual Seminar #NiñezPrimero on July 28, 29 and 30. In this space, the panelists analyzed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents; They stated that the figures for child and adolescent suicide continue to increase, a situation that should motivate the States to allocate a larger budget to implement mental health programs.
Miguel Malo, representative of the Pan American Health Organization Mexico (PAHO)He stated one of the greatest difficulties is the lack of budget to implement or strengthen health programs; He added that states allocate only 3% of the budget on mental health issues and 80% in psychiatric hospitals, not in first-level care centers. “Suicide is a public health problem and must be approached from that perspective; it has to be a government commitment (…) suicide can be prevented, but we must speak out and stop stigmatizing the problems that surround suicidal behavior ”.
In this regard, Gloria Carvalho, representative of the Alliance for Colombian Children Coalition, explained that during the period 2015 to 2019, about 1,322 suicides of girls, boys and adolescents were reported; that is, 1 every 30 hours. Similarly, during the first semester of 2020, a period that includes confinement, 113 cases of suicides were reported in people under 18 years of age, 1 every 38 hours in Colombia [2] "It is essential to generate the dissemination of knowledge, not only in the face of the situation surrounding the phenomenon of suicide, but also to be able to know what are the elements and tools that can be handled for this problem."
On this, Elke Franke, Director of Cultural Winds ACindicated that suicide is a problem present in rural and indigenous areas; However, it is not visible, due to a cultural issue or because the media consider the fact little relevant; situation that prevents the search for prevention strategies, pointed out that "When a person commits suicide it is because they cannot cope with conflicts or events that affect them, that lack of resilience is often associated with identity (...) we must have intersectoral collaboration to address the problem of suicide."
Nubia Bautista, Delegate of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of ColombiaHe added that, during 2019, 3,533 cases of attempted suicide were registered; about 83 per day and added that suicide responds to structural problems such as access to health, limitations in the quality of life, unemployment, inequality, among others; Likewise, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of a family member or someone close to the environment can become a trigger for a girl or boy to choose suicide. "Talking about suicide is not inducing suicide, it is talking about the emotions of sadness, worry, anguish, this is restorative for mental health (...) you have to learn to listen and talk about the needs of the other".
In this context, Elizabeth, a girl from Colombia, explained that the COVID-19 pandemic generated changes in the lives of girls and boys, such as mental health problems, feelings of insecurity, frustration due to the interruption of school activities, fear of the increase in violence, among others. “Before the pandemic, I liked going to school, birthdays, cinemas, visiting friends or family (…) experiencing all these changes at the same time creates stress for girls and boys; and if there is no family union, children can feel discouraged, sad, desperate, alone and that makes them regret taking their own lives ”.
Regarding other factors that lead to suicide, the expert Jorge González de la San Buena Ventura University of Bogotá, Colombia; indicated that family problems, or at school can be elements that affect the emotional health of a child, pointed out the importance of being attentive to signs of suicide attempt such as: verbal expressions, written about death, negative words about the life, fascination with death, gift of precious goods or momentous changes in behavior. "The academy, universities, colleges and all educational entities have the great responsibility of talking about the subject in a respectful way and doing studies that allow us to work based on evidence."
Finally, Juan Martín Pérez García, Coordinator of the Initiative Weaving Childhood Nets In Latin America and the Caribbean, he stated that there are still difficulties in making the problem of suicide of girls, boys and adolescents visible; For this reason, he emphasized the need to address the issue to analyze the causes and propose strategies to reduce the rates. “There is a lot of pain behind this data; They are life projects, they are people who at a very early age are forced to make a decisive and fatal decision; We must not lose sight of the fact that behind each number we are talking about a mine, a child or an adolescent ”.
[1] UN / report on the effects of COVID-19 and mental health.
[2] Report on suicides and suicide attempts in girls, boys and adolescents.
Watch or consult the videos of the three days of the Seminar on Mental Health and Suicide in Childhood held on July 28, 29 and 30, 2020:
–How to deal with the conditions surrounding mental health and suicide?
–How to prevent risks in childhood environments?
– What tools do we have to provide emotional stability in childhood?
Press contact: Verónica Morales / [email protected]
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#ChildhoodFirst It is a strategy that provides guidance for the care of children and adolescents in emergency situations.
WeavingNetworksChildhood, is a project co-financed by the European Union that seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of a platform for the defense of children and adolescents in 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Children's Rights Mexico AC / #TejiendoRedesInfancia and in no case should it consider that it reflects the views of the European Union.