Design suicide prevention strategy now

Last week across the globe, people commemorated the World Suicide Prevention day. Here in Botswana it was commemorated at the Sbrana Psychiatric Hospital in Lobatse where the institution’s head, Dr Mpho Thula decried the country’s failure to have in place a national suicide strategy.

“While a lot of countries have a national strategy in place for tackling suicide, Botswana does not. In its corporate strategic plan, the Ministry of Health does not even have any objective or initiative about suicide. Suicide in the country is still viewed largely as a law enforcement issue to be dealt with by the police and not as a public health  -or mental health - problem, which should be the case. We need resolve at national level to ensure a coordinated approach if we are to have any chance of bringing down the statistics” he stated then.

We agree with Dr Thula.

Editor's Comment
Routine child vaccination imperative

The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...

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