Zimbabwe Leads In Youth Suicide Ideation, Self Harm - WHO
Zimbabwe has the highest prevalence of suicide ideation and self-harm among young people, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Zimbabwe has said.
As reported by CITEโs Senzeni Ncube, the high rate of suicide ideation and self-harm among adolescents is linked to substance abuse and alcohol abuse.
This came out during the MindSKILLZ programme which focuses on adolescent mental health promotion and prevention.
The programme is being implemented by Pamumvuri Private Voluntary Organisation and Grassroot Soccer Inc. in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and WHO.
It incorporates soccer games, discussions, and activities designed to promote self-awareness and self-regulation, communication and relationship skills, problem-solving and decision-making, emotional intelligence and resilience and goal setting among adolescents.
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The pilot programme is set to launch in Bulawayo and Harare and will target 3 500 adolescents between the ages of 10-19 years.
Speaking during the meeting, WHO Zimbabwe Mental Health Technical Officer, Dr Debra Machando, said:
Zimbabwe has the highest rate of suicide ideation and self-harm. You will find a lot of young people who think that it is better to die or they want to relieve anxiety through self-harm in different ways.
You might find the young person with a lot of cuts under their sleeves or their bellies or on their thighs. Sadly, Zimbabwe is among the top 10 countries with the actual suicide rates among adolescents.
If we talk about common mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and behavioural disorders, we again often lead to high rates of substance abuse and alcohol abuse.
Machando also said Zimbabwe is the top-ranked country for 15 โ19-year-olds in the African region for binge drinking, โit could be the parties that we are reading about that could be causing all that.โ She added:
Sadly, our mental health expenditure is very low, for our country it is 0.42 per cent. Our mental health workforce, in Africa is the lowest, we have the least number of mental health practitioners who can handle these problems.
Bulawayo Provincial Medical Director, Dr Maphios Siamuchembu said in the southern region of the country, the problem is drug and substance abuse is exacerbated by the limited economic activities and opportunities.
The founder of Pamumvuri PVO, Jacob Shamuyarira said they want to create content in local languages.
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