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Uruguay seeks to lower suicide rate

Xinhua, July 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Uruguay will launch efforts to reduce suicide rate, the Health Ministry said Friday, which is National Suicide Prevention Day.

Uruguay has one of the highest suicide rates in the region. Some 643 people took their own lives in the country in 2015, 42 more than the previous year, with a particular rise in the number of men between 20 and 24 years old, according to official data.

In 2015, the country's suicide rate rose to 18.5 per 100,000 people, up from 17.4 in 2014, when 602 people killed themselves. Suicide has become the leading cause of violent deaths in Uruguay.

Health Minister Jorge Basso said that it was crucial to detect depression in time and to strengthen the training of health teams.

Basso added that the country's suicide helpline, which is available around the clock, would be strengthened.

"There is a long list of myths linked to suicide. The most prevalent one is that suicide should not be talked about, as if talking about it could cause a prevalence of suicides," said Basso.

"In a complex society like ours, topics must be accepted and discussed. It is important to do so properly, without sensationalism, and by involving all the population," he added. Endi