TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that this year, one person committed suicide every 40 seconds. The number exceeded the victims of war and natural disasters, with the elderly mostly take the action.
In its first report on suicide, the United Nations point a finger to the social media that has been 'glamorizing' the news of celebrities who had committed suicide.
"Suicide is an amazing public health problem. There is one suicide every 40 seconds - it is a huge number," said Shekhar Saxena, director of WHO's mental health department as quoted by Channel News Asia Thursday.
"There are 1.5 million violent deaths every year in the world, of which 800,000 are suicides."
The Central and Eastern Europe along with Asia are among the countries where the suicide rate hits highest, with 25 percent occurring in rich countries, the report says. Men are almost twice as likely as women to take their own lives. Common methods are hanging, gunshots, and in rural areas the use of poisonous insecticides.
"Globally, suicide rates are highest in people aged 70 years and over. In some countries, however, the highest rates are found among the young," WHO said. "Notably, suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29 year-olds globally."
NATALIA SANTI